AC Milan midfielder Loftus-Cheek reflects on missed opportunity to leave Chelsea as a teen

Loftus-Cheek, who is currently in his second season with Milan, has expressed regrets about not leaving Chelsea when he was a teenager.

He told The Times: "I think if you’re a youngster, seven or eight years old, and you’ve signed with Chelsea, fantastic.

"Because it’s a great academy and you’ll learn how to play football, you’ll develop your skills there and a great coach is coaching you.

"But it gets to a point, maybe at 15, 16, where you’re getting to that stage where it’s youth-team football.

"And you might want to start thinking about going and playing somewhere else. Because it’s very difficult now to just go straight through.

"The best way to develop is by playing games and playing men’s football.

"And it’s easier to do that somewhere else at a lower club. And I feel like that’s what I missed out on, I think."