Chelsea will allow Derby County to field loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori when they visit Stamford Bridge for the Carabao Cup fourth round tie between the teams.
Earlier in October sources told ESPN FC that Chelsea saw no reason to deviate from their standard policy of not allowing loan players to be eligible against them with regards to Mount and Tomori, who are both impressing at Derby this season under the tutelage of Blues legend Frank Lampard.
But after Lampard made it clear that he would like to be able to select the pair -- and many Chelsea supporters voiced their desire to see the youngsters in action -- the club have relented.
Article 6.3 of the EFL rules governing the Carabao Cup allows for loan players to be registered if the parent club provides "written consent" and in a statement issued on their official website, Chelsea confirmed they have supplied Derby with the necessary permission.
"Chelsea Football Club has today granted Derby County permission to select loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori for next week's Carabao Cup fourth-round fixture," the statement read.
"Unlike in the Premier League, EFL Cup rules allow for clubs in the competition to make such agreements for players to appear against their parent clubs.
"Mount and Tomori have been regulars for the Rams under Frank Lampard this season, and, after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in the previous round, we believe the experience of facing top-level opposition once more will be of benefit to their on-going development at Derby."
Lampard thanked his former club for their decision, adding that he felt it would be a great opportunity for the players.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chelsea, their director Marina Granovskaia and manager Maurizio Sarri for allowing Mason and Fikayo to be available for selection for the Carabao Cup tie," he told Derby's official website. "We've been in dialogue with Chelsea since the draw was made and it's great, first and foremost, that the players will have the opportunity to test themselves against a top side."
Chelsea Football Club has today granted Derby County permission to select loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori for next week's Carabao Cup fourth-round fixture... https://t.co/TLeXQBbrCQ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 22, 2018
All of Chelsea's domestic loanees have it written in their contracts that they cannot play against the Blues, and last season Tomori sat out, along with Ola Aina and Michael Hector, as Antonio Conte's team beat Hull City 4-0 in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge.
The only recent exception to this Chelsea policy is Thibaut Courtois, who helped Atletico Madrid eliminate the Blues from the Champions League semifinals in April 2014.
At the prompting of Jose Mourinho, the club sought to have him declared ineligible, but their appeal was dismissed by UEFA.
Mount has been one of the stars of the Championship so far -- registering three goals and an assist from midfield in 13 appearances to help the club to fifth in the table -- and was recognised during the October international break with a first call-up to Gareth Southgate's senior England squad for UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain.