'England youngsters are the future of Chelsea'
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says that newly-capped England stars Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham are "the future for Chelsea".
The pair made their England debuts against Germany during the international break, with Loftus-Cheek being named Man of the Match and Conte is certainly expecting big things from them in the future.
The duo are currently furthering their footballing education elsewhere, with Abraham leading the line at Swansea and Loftus-cheek pulling the strings in midfield for Crystal Palace and Conte believes that the loans are the ideal way to prepare the players for life at Stamford Bridge.
"I think we are talking about two really good young players. Ruben and Tammy will be the future for Chelsea," the Italian proclaimed ahead of Chelsea's trip to the Hawthorns on Saturday.
"Now it's right for them to play regularly. Ruben said that his path is perfect and to play regularly this season is very important for his development.
"Then he can come back and play for Chelsea with greater maturity."
In order to demonstrate the benefits of a good loan, Conte used the example of Andreas Christensen, who spent two years in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach before returning to become a member of Chelsea's first team squad.
"It's the same path as Christensen. He played for two years on loan and now he's playing regularly for Chelsea. He's young but an important Chelsea player," he explained.