Ruben Loftus-Cheek to use Under-21 European Championships to cement Chelsea place

Chelsea starlet Ruben Loftus-Cheek is determined to prove his worth for England at the upcoming Under-21 European Championships in the hope of earning a first team role at Stamford Bridge.

The 19-year-old academy graduate was handed his Premier League debut in May against Liverpool and started again against West Brom a week later, earning rave reviews from Blues supporters and pundits alike.

His rise from the youth ranks and promising emergence for the first team saw manager Jose Mourinho claim the midfielder will be part of his first team squad next season, also inviting him along on the club's post-season tour in Australia and Thailand.

Loftus-Cheek came off the bench in the 1-0 win of FC Sydney but was taken off just 25 minutes later before he was singled out for criticism by Mourinho post-match.

The Chelsea starlet is now fully focused on England's campaign in the Czech Republic however and is hoping he can return to Stamford Bridge with his stock even higher.

"It's been a mad few months, making my Prem debut and then getting another game as well," he told FATV.

"It's been a good end to the season for me, but I just want to kick-on now and try to push and push.

"Hopefully, I can do well at the Euros and then it's back to pre-season and the hard work starts then.

"I always want to push on, I don't think I've made it yet or anything. I just want to push on, do more things and get more games for Chelsea next season.

"I've been training with the first team since January and I've really enjoyed it.

"I look up to all of them, the players that have been playing every week and training hard day-in and day-out.

"You see the winning mentality from all of them. So for me, just being around a winning team is great."