Frank Lampard believes young defender can perform even better

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard believes Reece James can perform much better on the playing field following his impressive debut against Grimsby Town in the League Cup third round.

The teenager had suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with the England Under-20 side during the summer and that meant that he had to go through a rehabilitation phase which delayed his Blues debut.

Against Grimsby, James flourished on the right side of the defence throughout the 90 minute and he capped the performance with two assists and a sublime goal from outside of the box.

This has already earned him plenty of plaudits from the club's faithful but Lampard feels the right-back can get better, considering he has just returned to first-team action after an injury setback.

"His game will get much better. Reece’s performances last year at Wigan when he was in the Team of the Year in the Championship showed the talent he has got and he is going to be a big player for this club," he told Football.London.

Cesar Azpilicueta has been commanding the right-back position in the Premier League this term and the Spaniard is likely to get the nod ahead of James this weekend, given he is also the captain of the team.

James will definitely earn more gametime in the other competitions as the season progresses and a couple of more standout displays will no doubt put the pressure on Azpilicueta, who has been error prone this season.