Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has reiterated that he will only use players from the club's youth setup when they deserve their chance to represent the first team.
Conte has claimed that many of his experienced players are tired after needing to rotate his relatively small first-team squad, but the Italian has opted against using academy talent on a regular basis.
Ethan Ampadu is the one youngster who has been given a number of opportunities, but Conte has suggested that Callum Hudson-Odoi will have to remain patient for a chance.
At a press conference, the 48-year-old said: "First of all the young player has to deserve the chance. Not just because they are academy and young. For this reason Ampadu has deserved this chance and will probably play tomorrow. He has deserved the opportunity and taken his chance."
On Hudson-Odoi, he added: "I think we are talking about a player with good potential. He needs another step before having this chance to play with us. For sure he is a very interesting player for us and we have to continue to work with him and to improve, to have another step to be able to face this type of game.
Chelsea host Norwich City in their FA Cup third-round replay without the services of Gary Cahill, Cesc Fabregas and Ross Barkley.
Darren Plant
