Jose Mourinho has revealed that he will hand a debut to Ruben Loftus-Cheek during Chelsea's Champions League group encounter against Sporting Lisbon tomorrow night.
The 18-year-old, who captained the Blues to the FA Youth Cup last term, has been with the club for over a decade.
With Mourinho's men having already booked their place in the knockout stages, the coach has confirmed that his intention is to give the young midfielder, who has impressed him in training, some game time at Stamford Bridge.
"I don't know if he will start, but he will play. One month ago he played in Lisbon in [the Under-19 Champions League], so you can imagine the difference between facing the Sporting academy in front of 1000 fans and to play against Sporting in real Champions League at Stamford Bridge with 45,000 fans and all the lights on him," Mourinho told reporters.
"To be here since he was eight and to have a chance to play in Chelsea's first game is every kid's dream. He didn't start pre-season training with me, but the way he's training with us every time he comes across gives me guarantee of his quality and his ambition."
Ruben-Cheek's playing style has resulted in comparisons with former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira.
Liam Apicella
