Crystal Palace midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed that he had a 'quite a strong vision' to leave Chelsea and seek pastures new due to a lack of playing time.
The 21-year-old grew frustrated at constantly being overlooked for regular selection at Stamford Bridge under a string of managers, instead opting to try his luck elsewhere.
Loftus-Cheek was granted a season-long loan with Palace and has since been rewarded, having earned a call-up to the England squad after featuring in seven of the Eagles' 11 Premier League games this term.
"I had a vision and it became quite strong that I wanted to go from Chelsea," he told reporters. "I felt like I needed to play a lot, so I came in and said I wanted to go away from Chelsea and play games. So we came to an agreement.
"You can only improve so much in training. Games and training are completely different. So for me to get to that next level I needed to play regular football. I thought it was the best decision to go from Chelsea to play and develop myself which looks like being a good thing."
Loftus-Cheek is expected to make his senior England debut in Friday night's friendly with Germany at Wembley Stadium.
Daniel Lewis
