Building on a successful 2018/19 campaign with the Blues, Loftus-Cheek has committed himself to the club until at least 2024.

The 23-year-old became a regular in our midfield last season and continued to play for England, although injury in May denied him participation in the Europa League final and UEFA Nations League finals soon after.

Loftus-Cheek has spent the summer in rehabilitation and was at Stamford Bridge to put pen to paper on his new deal.

‘I’m really happy and pleased that I get to stay here for another five years. It’s the place where I’ve grown up playing and hopefully I’ll be playing here for a lot longer,’ he said.

‘At eight or nine years old, of course you never think you’ll be here for so long because you just want to enjoy yourself and play with your friends.

‘When I look back and see how the hard work has paid off, it’s a good feeling. That only makes me want to work harder to achieve more in the future.

'I hope to win a lot more trophies with the team and personally it’s just about trying to do as well as I can and work hard to be a key player for Chelsea.’

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘We see Ruben as an important part of the squad for many years to come and we are very pleased he also considers his future to be with Chelsea.

‘He is proof of the fantastic work being done in the Chelsea Academy and in recent seasons has developed into a first-team regular and an England international. Under Frank Lampard’s leadership, we believe he will be a key player for Chelsea and we look forward to welcoming him back once he has recovered from his injury.’

Loftus-Cheek progressed through the Academy from the Under-8s, captaining an FA Youth Cup-winning side and winning the UEFA Youth League and Under-21 Premier League.

His long-predicted move into our men’s team began with a post-season visit to the USA when he was just 17 and he made his competitive debut in the Champions League in December 2014. That was followed by two appearances in our 2014/15 Premier League-winning campaign that season.

The following season he appeared 17 times and scored twice, against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup and then his maiden Premier League strike in a match at Aston Villa.

He has now made 72 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 12 goals, and contributed to another league title-winning campaign in 2016/17.

Having spent the 2017/18 season on loan gaining experience at top-flight Crystal Palace, 40 of his Chelsea games and 10 of the goals came last season. Those included a hat-trick in a Europa League group-stage game and an important late winner in the Premier League at Cardiff.

For England, Loftus-Cheek played through the age groups before winning his first full cap against Germany in November 2017. He was part of the England squad at the 2018 World Cup finals and has 10 international appearances to his name.