Ruben Loftus-Cheek is a promising talent from Chelsea's youth team
The Chelsea manager, whose team face Paris St Germain in their Champions League last 16 second leg clash tonight, wants the talented 19-year-old to be a first team regular next season.
Midfielder Loftus Cheek has been with Chelsea since he was eight years old and in February was promoted to the first team squad by Mourinho. He made his Champions League bow as a substitute in December and his Premier League debut in January.
Mourinho has also vowed that the rangy midfielder, a regular in the England Under 19 team, will not be sold like talented Serb Nemanja Matic was, in an exchange deal to bring foreign stars into the club, and have to be expensively bought back.
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And the Lewisham-born talent, who alongside Nathan Ake and Isaiah Brown is rated as one of the brightest prospects coming through the Chelsea academy, will also not be sent out on loan.
Chelsea currently have some 26 players out on loan across Europe – but Mourinho said: “At the age of 18, 19 sometimes you don’t believe that the player can go in a certain direction so you make a couple of million with a player and you are happy with that.
“At academy level you know clearly that not everyone is going to be a player for your first team. So sometimes you can capitalise and make money in small deals and invest again in the academy to get the right talents to bring to the first team.
“But Loftus-Cheek is to stay. And I think to stay and to play. Next year to play - not just to stay.”
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