Thomas Tuchel has warned Chelsea’s young players that they should be prepared to go out on loan before becoming first-team stars at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have been one of the most successful sides in the Premier League since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
Chelsea were long criticised for failing to give youth a chance, although that has started to change in recent years.
Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham are all key parts of Tuchel’s squad after being brought into the fold by Frank Lampard.
All three players spent time on loan elsewhere, including in the Championship and overseas, before getting their big break at Chelsea.
And Tuchel has told the club’s current crop of youngsters that they too should be prepared for spells away from west London.
“Also at my last clubs it was always like this, the door is always open in my office for the coaches and the officials from the academy,”he told Chelsea’s official website.
“I love to watch training and to watch in-house games on the other pitches of the academy, although this is unfortunately not possible at the moment because we are in the bubble and have different zones.
“In my belief this is always the backbone of any club and the more guys you have that can arrive in the first team the better it is for the club, because it is something that the supporters love and these boys normally care absolutely about Chelsea, because they live that spirit over years and years.
“On the other hand they also choose the most difficult way. To make it at Chelsea, to make it at Paris [Saint-Germain] to make it at [Borussia] Dortmund, is one of the toughest challenges you can have.
“Sometimes the way is not only straight up, it's sometimes bumpy, sometimes you go on loan, but I like that they accept the challenge to make it here.
“I feel from the boys here that they absolutely want to make it as Chelsea players. Not only Premier League players, but they want to be Chelsea players, and this is the spirit that we want to feel. When we feel the spirit, in combination of course with the talent, we will push them.”
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