Chelsea prospect Billy Gilmour has revealed that the sharp rise of the club's young players means it's felt just like he's been "playing with his mates" this season.
The 18-year-old is one of a number of Blues starlets to have been provided a path to first team football in the early stages of this campaign under Frank Lampard's tutelage.
Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all nailed down starting places in Lampard's first-choice eleven, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James have returned from injury and are already staking claims of their own.
Speaking exclusively to 90min ahead of adidas' launch of their Encryption pack, Glaswegian Gilmour said the rapid progress of the youthful contingent meant training and matches had been like a kick-around with mates.