Chelsea refuse to loan players to some English clubs after broken promises over first-team action, Bristol City chief operating officer Mark Ashton has claimed.

Tammy Abraham, 18, joined City on a season-long loan at the beginning of August and he has made an immediate impact at Championship level, scoring five goals in his first seven appearances in all competitions.

He is among 38 players that Chelsea have sent out on loan this season, of which 19 are currently registered with clubs in the English football pyramid.

But Ashton says that the Blues' hierarchy took some convincing before allowing one of their most prized academy prospects to join his club, having been stung by previous agreements where English clubs failed to live up to their promises of giving on-loan youngsters regular first team experience.

"At the end of last season, Lee [Johnson, Bristol City manager] went to Chelsea's training ground and presented to [technical director] Michael Emenalo, while I went to Stamford Bridge and met Roman Abramovich's board of directors," Ashton told the Bristol Post.

Tammy Abraham celebrates after scoring for Bristol City against Wycombe. Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

"They had tried these arrangements with English clubs before and, in their words, they hadn't worked. They gave me a list of clubs they would not do business with.

"I asked them to give us Tammy for the season and then judge us on what we do, not what we say. I told them we would show them what we could do and then build a long-term relationship.

"We then did the deal with Chelsea and sorted all of the finances, which were far from straightforward. Then we had to wait for [new Chelsea head coach Antonio] Conte."

Ashton says that the deal was almost scuppered when Conte arrived at Cobham and took an instant liking to the young striker during preseason.

"We had an agreement with Chelsea that, if Tammy came out on loan, it would be to Bristol City," Ashton added. "We had that one in the drawer by the end of June.

"We then brought Tammy and his family in, gave them a tour of Bristol and of the training ground and showed him where he would be living. But Chelsea had to delay, because Conte was coming in. Once he was in, he made it very clear that he liked Tammy Abraham.

Tammy Abraham is rated as one of Chelsea's brightest young prospects. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

"When Tammy went from the Euros [European Under-19 Championship] straight to the U.S. on tour with Chelsea, the feedback we got from Chelsea's directors was that Conte was keen on him. At that stage, we were thinking he might keep him in and not allow us to take him.

"We kept pushing and the player, his family and his representatives kept pushing. Tammy knew that, if he stayed at Chelsea, his game time would be limited. He wanted to come here and play.

"Eventually, I got an email from Chelsea's board saying Conte had agreed to Tammy coming to us. We already had a deal agreed with Chelsea, so Tammy flew straight to Bristol from the U.S. and we did it all the next day."

Abraham, who joined Chelsea's academy at under-8 level and has won two UEFA Youth League titles and two FA Youth Cups in the last two seasons, is regarded as one of the club's brightest homegrown prospects and signed a new contract last October that keeps him at Stamford Bridge until June 2019.