Fulham manager Martin Jol believes that if you are good enough, you are old enough.
My player [Kerim] Frei showed he is good enough to play at 18 so I do not think about it."
Jol has stuck with the mantra of talent being more important than age this season, blooding a number of younger players into the first team.
Frei was among those handed their senior debut and he has so far impressed the Fulham manager.
"As I said, it doesn't matter how young you are," Jol said.
"He came on against Swansea and earned a penalty. He played against Chelsea and did the same.
"He played against Odense in the Europa League and set-up the first goal and scored the second.
"That is something we can build on and it can push other players because he does not have a lack of confidence, shall we say."
Frei is jostling with Clint Dempsey for the left-wing slot at Stamford Bridge and Jol believes such squad depth has helped them get through what has been a difficult season so far.
The
match with Chelsea will be Fulham's 33rd competitive game of the season, which includes 14 Europa League matches.
"Sometimes playing in Europe will be a problem and other managers will tell you that," Jol said.
"If you play in Europe you have to travel on Thursday and perhaps play an away game on the Sunday in the league.
"That could be a problem and it showed, and with other teams as well.
"But we are still on the fringe of things and we were still on the fringe before, with the possibility to win games.
"If you look at the league table, we need to focus on wins and getting points on the board."