Reece James, Chelsea Agree to New Contract Through 2025

Chelsea have wasted little time ensuring Reece James' future will be at Stamford Bridge, following the 20-year-old's breakout performance during Saturday's 3-0 win over Burnley in the Premier League. 

The raiding right-back put pen to paper on a new contract on Thursday, with the fresh terms set to run for five-and-a-half-years, per the club's official website.

James, who has been a fixture in Frank Lampard's team for the last three matches, called it a "dream to be here at Chelsea and play week in week out and to have a contract for another five-and-a-half years is living the dream again."

Chelsea director Maria Granovskaia hailed the new contract as further proof of the excellence of the club's youth setup:

"The smooth way Reece has fitted into the team so quickly despite missing the start of the season has been clear for everyone to see, and the fact another exciting young player is part of the future of the club is a result of great work by our Academy, our loans department, our new coaching staff and of course the player himself."

The strength of the Blues' academy has been obvious, with club legend Lampard making young talent the foundation of his team. It's proved a smart ploy given the quality of the academy graduates at his disposal.

Tammy Abraham has made the centre-forward position his own, leading the club with 15 goals in all competitions, despite being just 22. The latest of those goals came via a James assist against the Clarets.

It was part of an outstanding display from the defender who spent last season on loan at Wigan Athletic. James tore through Burnley with pace, strength and timing.

His eye for a quality delivery was proved by numbers matched by two other more former members of the Blues' finishing school:

Making a long-term investment in James' continued development is smart business from Chelsea, according to Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard:

The promise of more to come is underpinning Chelsea's fresh outlook under Lampard. It's a risk for a club traditionally content to spend big on proven stars since Roman Abramovich assumed ownership in 2003.

However, the decision to quickly tie James to a new deal shows the Chelsea hierarchy is fully behind Lampard's vision for a younger team built to succeed for the long haul.