Frank Lampard tells Callum Hudson-Odoi he will have key role at Chelsea and remains hopeful of new contract

Frank Lampard is hopeful Callum Hudson-Odoi will sign a new contract with Chelsea and believes the teenager could become central to his plans at Stamford Bridge.

Hudson-Odoi is in the final year of his deal at Chelsea and the club are keen to agree an extension with him.

The forward, who made his England debut earlier this year, is a target for Bayern Munich and they had four bids rejected for him last January — the last of which was £35million.

Chelsea, who are in Japan on a pre-season tour, have already tied down a number of young players to long-term deals this summer, including Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

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Blues boss Lampard is keen for Hudson-Odoi to join that list, having held talks with the 18-year-old.

He said: “We want young players, you can see that. Other players are signing up around him and hopefully it [Hudson-Odoi’s new contract] is something that is going to be done.

“Of course, we want him to sign at this club and be a big player for us. I have spoken to him a couple of times because I want him to know how I feel.

“There are two things. One is the football side, which I am involved in, and one is the negotiating and making sure the contract is signed, which I am not.

“So to say I am confident would mean that I know every side, I don’t quite, I leave that to the club. What I do know is the club want Callum to sign.

“He is a player who has come through the Chelsea academy, broken into the England squad and he is, of course, potentially, a huge player now and in the future.

“Callum knows how I feel, he can be absolutely central to this team. He is young, there is a lot of improvement — which is only good news for all of us. He is a really big talent.

“The fans love him here. The club want to love him.

“I have a real care for the players at this club, particularly the young players, and it is important I show that. Then the decision will be his and the club’s together.”

With FIFA’s transfer embargo enforced for both the summer and winter windows, Lampard cannot make any signings. However, the 41-year-old has sent a strong message when it comes to selling players by declaring that Chelsea will not become a stop-gap club.

“I was fortunate to play for Chelsea in an era when I was surrounded by team-mates who really felt the club,” Lampard told Sky Sports News.

“John Terry felt the club because he came through here and myself, being a London boy who came here at a relatively young age.

“But [foreign signings] Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Eidur Gudjohnsen, they all felt the club. I could go on and on about players.

“I want players at this club who are not hearing passing through. It is not here as a means to another move, it a means to being at the club that they love and feel it.”