Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho warns rivals Manchester City: Your state-of-the art academy will not guarantee success 

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Jose Mourinho has warned Manchester City it is ‘not easy’ to bring academy players into the first team and that their state-of-the-art academy won’t guarantee a higher standard of youth players.

City opened their new £200million headquarters on Monday with the view to becoming a factory for bringing through talent. It eclipses the £30m Chelsea spent in 2005 on their academy.

Mourinho will hand 18-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek — at the club since he was eight — his first-team debut against Sporting Lisbon, and maintains splashing millions on state-of-the-art facilities does not guarantee results.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is all set to be handed his Chelsea debut during their dead-rubber against Sporting

Chelsea welcome Sporting Lisbon to Stamford Bridge in their final Champions League group match

Cesc Fabregas (centre) warms up alongside some of his more inexperienced colleagues on Tuesday 

Mourinho said: ‘It depends on the talent you have. Every manager in the world wants to bring young people up. Sometimes you have it. Sometimes you don’t. I can compare my first spell here to now, and now the quality of the young players is clearly better.

‘I’m not saying they’re ready, but the quality is much better.

‘Go to other clubs, it’s clear it’s not easy to bring kids from the youth competitions to the top level, but every one has the same feeling. We want to do it.’

The Chelsea manager hailed their match against Sporting Lisbon as their ‘Academy Day’, celebrating the fact that young players are breaking through to the senior squad.

John Terry, Eden Hazard and Willian have been given a break by Mourinho with Chelsea already qualified at the top of Group G.

That made room for Loftus-Cheek and defender Nathan Ake, 19, in training. Loftus-Cheek, who is expected to start on the bench but will play some part, has trained with the senior squad every day for the past three weeks.

Ake has been on the fringes of the first team this campaign. He has started twice in the Capital One Cup and made a substitute appearance in the 6-0 win against Maribor.

But in recent years the chances for youngsters have been limited and Terry, 34, is the last player to come through the academy and become a regular in the first team. 

Chelsea's Loftus-Cheek (centre) was among the youngsters getting involved in the 11.30am session

Nathan Ake, 19, Loftus-Cheek, 18, and Mitchell Beeney, 19, were all out for the training session on Tuesday

Didier Drogba out for Chelsea training on Tuesday but John Terry, Eden Hazard and Willian were absent

‘The people in the academy feel they are working for something,’ Mourinho said. ‘Which is why it is not Ruben’s day but “Academy Day”.’

Mourinho also warned that unless clubs allow managers to work long-term, academies will not work. He has started making plans for the future regarding how to integrate young players into his first team.

‘If you don’t bring kids through the academy, the best thing is to close it.’ he added. ‘If the kids are not good enough or the work not good enough, close the door and use the money to buy players.

‘You need to prove the academy works well and is worth it. It’s only possible if the first-team manager stays for a long time, which in this club in the last 10 years was not possible. Now I’m trying to format Ruben and other Rubens in relation to my ideas.

‘The relation between the first-team and the academy is changing with this stability we are having.’

WHO IS RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK?  

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who is set to be handed his Chelsea debut against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night, is regarded as one of the country's brightest emerging talents.

The 6ft 4in central midfielder, 18, has earned rave reviews for his composed play and passing in central midfield and looks well-equipped to make the step up.

Hailing from Lewisham, south London, Loftus-Cheek first pulled on a blue shirt for the U8s team and is, as Jose Mourinho said, very much 'Made in Chelsea.'

Graduating through the Stamford Bridge schoolboy teams, he was appearing for the Under-18s three years ahead of schedule and captaining England schoolboys in the Victory Shield.

The maturity and energy he demonstrated in the box-to-box midfield role won admiring glances from a number of big clubs, including Barcelona, and prompted Chelsea to tie down his future

Ruben Loftus-Cheek lifts the FA Youth Cup after Chelsea beat Fulham in last season's final

The central midfielder in action for Chelsea's Under 21 team in a Cup match against West Ham last season

Loftus-Cheek is always a willing outlet for the defenders and, with head up pressing forward, is adept at picking the right pass.

Tall and strong, he is rarely dispossessed either, but it is his composure on the ball that is most eye-catching. He never looks rushed and always seems to be in acres of space.

The breakthrough season came in 2012-2013, when Loftus-Cheek played a starring role as Chelsea progressed to the final of the FA Youth Cup and the NextGen Series, though both ended in defeat.

Selection for the Under 21 side soon followed and he started two post-season first team friendlies against Manchester City out in the United States.

Loftus-Cheek helped Chelsea to victory in the Under 21 Premier League, playing in the 2-1 win in the final at Old Trafford. He also played a full part in Chelsea's FA Youth Cup success, captaining the team.

This season, he has been a mainstay of Chelsea's Under 21 side and has also participated in the UEFA Youth League.

Loftus-Cheek has been capped for England up to Under 19 level and has six goals in 10 matches at that standard.

ADAM SHERGOLD