Chelsea are preparing to tie down Tino Anjorin to a new contract as Frank Lampard looks likely to include him in his matchday squad to face Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
The 17-year-old sees his contract expire in June 2021 but Lampard's appointment has shown there are opportunities for academy stars and he is keen to continue at the club.
Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash sees the Blues face League Two opposition and gives Lampard a chance to rest senior stars and give debuts to various prospects from the academy.
Anjorin's good form is expected to be recognised after he scored five times in seven games across various youth levels this season and his style of play has seen him earn comparisons to Ruben Loftus-Cheek as a physically-imposing attacking midfielder.
Marc Guehi and Ian Maatsen will be elevated into the first team too as Andreas Christensen and Emerson Palmieri are doubts after suffering injuries in the first-half against Liverpool on Sunday.
Emerson is understood to have suffered a repeat of the muscle strain that set him back while on international duty with Italy.
Chelsea have already involved Guehi in a matchday squad as they cope with several injuries to central defenders. Maatsen, meanwhile, has been getting closer to the first team after travelling to Wolves as the Blues contended with two injuries at full-back.
Billy Gilmour has already made his debut this season in the Premier League against Sheffield United and he renewed his contract shortly after that appearance.
Anjorin will join the likes of Gilmour, Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Guehi and Jamie Cumming in signing new contracts this season.
Hudson-Odoi and Reece James have been playing in the Under-23s for the past week and they are all set to mark their first-team returns in the match against Grimsby.
Unlike Anjorin, James will permanently train with the first team this season and he is also in line for a new contract in the coming weeks.
Lampard has insisted that he will lean heavily on the Chelsea academy in the 2019-20 campaign and that the faith in youth is not because of a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.
"They have to show they deserve to be in front of other players," Lampard said of his academy stars on Friday. "At the moment, it's nice because they are showing that. They are all coming together.
"We have got Callum and Reece James playing in the Under-23s tomorrow [September 21]. We have a game in the week that they can certainly play a part in for the Carabao Cup. So they have been out. Ruben we know more about as he is a little bit older.
"He has always been searching for more games which he was starting to get before he got injured. I think we have that right in front of us and hopefully there will be more beneath that.
"Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher, who is doing brilliantly on loan at Charlton, and others, I don't want to leave others out. The door is open but they have to go through it."