Frank Lampard refusing to ditch youth policy despite transfer ban being lifted

Lampard has admitted he is ready to bolster his squad, but only with genuine quality – and vowed to keep faith with homegrown stars like in-form England men Abraham and Mount.

"The fans won't lose that feeling for the young players; they won't lose it because the young players are here to stay," said Lampard.

"And the young players beneath that, if they train well enough and show enough then they'll get their opportunities because that's how I am here.

"So I don't think there's any problem with that, if we're going to try and do something it will be for the improvement of the squad.

"But if you think we're going to line up Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Reece James and sell them, we're not.

"They're here to stay so the fans will be happy that they can keep that relationship and know that anything we do do going forward now will be to try and improve from that base."

Chelsea could look to recruit a left-back next month, with Leicester's Ben Chilwell heavily linked with a Stamford Bridge switch.

Wilfried Zaha wants a move away from Crystal Palace to realise his Champions League ambitions, while England teenager Jadon Sancho is reportedly unsettled at Borussia Dortmund.

England hitman Abraham has fired 11 Premier League goals and laid on three assists in 14 top-flight appearances this term, while midfielder Mount has hit the net on five occasions.

Lampard admitted Chelsea will not pass up the chance to dip into the market, but also insisted he wants to capitalise on the rich academy talent at his disposal.

Lampard said: "Every big team buys. In the competitive nature of the Premier League and where we're at, look at what Manchester United have spent in recent years and Manchester City, and now Tottenham last summer and Arsenal.

"And everyone is trying so it's obviously part of the picture. We sometimes get a finger pointed at us because people are still thinking about 15, 20 years ago, when Roman Abramovich turned up at the club.

"Every club is buying. So that's part of it. But at the moment we have managed to utilise a lot of hard work that has gone into the academy over the last 15 or so years and that's great to see that coming through in one go.

"So that's changed our picture slightly but we still want to improve if the opportunities are there."