Chelsea have no interest in selling Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the summer and still regard him as part of their long-term plans.

Loftus-Cheek, who is on a season-long loan at Crystal Palace, has dropped even further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge after they signed Ross Barkley from Everton for £15million on Friday.

The 21-year-old moved to Selhurst Park this term in order to get more first-team football having made just 14 starts for the Blues in his career.

Competition for places in midfield was already intense before Barkley arrived with Antonio Conte having N'Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater to choose from.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson admitted this week that he hoped to capitalise on the situation by trying to secure Loftus-Cheek on a permanent basis.

He said: "The way Ruben's been playing for us, he's a player we'd like to have at our club, there's no doubt about that."

But Chelsea will reject any offer from Crystal Palace or from elsewhere for the youngster's services. The club regard Loftus-Cheek as a genuine prospect for their first team and he will return to the club after his loan at Crystal Palace expires.

Loftus-Cheek has benefited from his switch to Crystal Palace having already made 17 appearances. His form has been so good, England coach Gareth Southgate handed him his first two senior caps in November and he was named man of the match against Germany.

Even though they are similar players, Chelsea believe Barkley and Loftus-Cheek can play together in the same side.

Chelsea handed Loftus-Cheek a new five-year contract in 2016 worth £60,000-a-week and gave assurances at the time that the club were committed to helping him progress to the senior side.

Captain Gary Cahill has welcomed Barkley's arrival, but significantly made a point of mentioning Chelsea's academy prospect, who has been at the club since the age of eight.

He said: "Ross is capable of whatever he wants. He reminds me of Ruben in terms of attributes.

"Does he have a good left foot and right foot? Is he strong, is he quick? Can he finish? Is he comfortable on the ball? (the answer is yes) He ticks all the boxes."

Barkley worked with a fitness coach on Saturday and will have his first training session with Conte today.

The 24-year-old has not played a game all season due to a hamstring injury and will not be considered for selection in the League Cup semi-final against Arsenal in midweek.

Conte wants to work on his fitness levels as well as the England international's knowledge of Chelsea's system.

However, Conte said: “My hope is to have this player very quickly. It's important for me to see him, to understand his physical condition, to improve his physical condition, to work with us, into our ideas.

"From Monday I'll see him and then we'll start to prepare a programme, a plan to have him very good.”