Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed that England U21 midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will remain at Stamford Bridge this season rather than be sent out on loan.

The former Italty manager stepped up his experiment of using Loftus-Cheek in a forward role in Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

The Italian manager insists that the young midfielder will stay at Chelsea this season to improve as a player and also help the team going forward.

‘He stays here,’ Conte said after the match.

‘I repeat it is right to improve the player in the squad but also to give the opportunity to a young player like Loftus with a great talent to stay with the first team and to help us.’

The 20-year-old midfielder broke into the Blues first team in 2014 and was given his senior debut in December 2014, replacing Cesc Fabregas for the final seven minutes of a Champions League group match against Sporting Lisbon at Stamford Bridge.

Over the course of his career, Loftus-Cheek has scored twice and assistsed a further three from 21 appearances in all competitions since joining the senior team.