AFC Bournemouth
Harry Wilson hailed Frank Lampard's "massive" effect on him as the winger gets set to take on his former manager at Vitality Stadium tomorrow..
The pair worked together at Derby County last season, the Rams coming within a game of the Premier League after reaching the Championship play-off final.
Speaking exclusively to MATCHDAY, the club's official programme, Wilson spoke about Lampard and joining County on loan last season.
"He was massive for my development and my career so far," he said.
"Before I went there, speaking to him on the phone felt like he was the manager who wanted me the most as I had a couple of other clubs who were interested.
"He’d watched my games and told me where he saw me fitting into his team and I knew from that moment that going to Derby was the right decision and throughout the season it became clear that I had decided well.
"I learned a lot from him, not just playing in my usual position because he played me in central midfield for a lot of games.
"That was new to me but he pulled me into his office and said he felt I was a player who could play there and he showed me a few videos, gave me a few tactical pointers and my game came on leaps and bounds under him. I definitely owe him a lot.
"We had a great team at Derby, a good mix of experience and youth coming through.
"We did well to get into the play-offs and then to fall at the final hurdle was devastating for us all, seeing how much work all the players and staff had put in, as well as the support of the fans, so to not quite be able to do it in the final was disappointing but that’s a life experience I’ll take with me and it’s definitely made me a stronger person."
Also in MATCHDAY for the visit of the Blues, Pat Nevin talks about his former side's progress in their first season of a new era, while we catch up with former striker Tony Funnell and his goalscoring exploits for the club during the eighties.
As ever, over 116 pages there is all the news from the club, including a big fold-out poster of Wilson in the Extra Time pull-out, aimed at younger Cherries supporters.
MATCHDAY costs £3.50 and can be bought ahead of the Chelsea kick-off. Physical editions can also be bought online here or can be downloaded via a digital version (here for iOS and here for Android) which is compatible with screen readers.
