Chelsea academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek says he plans to work hard and cement his place in the Blues' first-team next season following recent criticism from Jose Mourinho.
The 19-year-old was handed his first Premier League start by the Portuguese boss in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool in May before he travelled with the squad on their post-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
Mourinho brought Loftus-Cheek on just before half-time in their 1-0 friendly victory against Sydney FC but, after the midfielder came off with an apparent injury 25 minutes later, the Blues boss questioned the 19-year-old's work rate in the game.
Loftus-Cheek is now preparing to represent England at the European Under-21 Championships in the Czech Republic next week, and admitted he is hoping to perform well at the tournament before going back to Chelsea and proving his worth.
"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."
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Loftus-Cheek is the youngest player to be included in Gareth Southgate's England squad, with the 19-year-old set to earn his first cap at this level if he features at the Under-21 finals next week.
