Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour has revealed that Frank Lampard had turned down his loan request in the summer.
It is understood that Frank Lampard convinced the young Scottish international that he would be better off fighting for a place within the squad.
The 18-year-old, who joined Chelsea's academy from Rangers in the summer of 2017, admitted that the decision to stay put turned out to be the correct decision.
Since the loan request was turned down, The Scottish midfielder has made his first-team debuts in the the Premier League and Carabao Cup.
He made his Premier League debut from the bench in Chelsea's 2-2 draw to Sheffield United earlier this season.
Additionally, he made his Carabao Cup debut for Chelsea's first team in their 7-1 thrashing of League Two side Grimsby Town.
The 18-year-old has also been called up to Scotland's Under-21 side and featured in both their Euro 2021 qualifiers in the past week.
Pre-season chat
With the teenager now starting to get some minutes under his belt, Gilmour acknowledges that his season would have turned out a lot differently if he was granted his wish of going out on loan.
Gilmour said: "In pre-season the manager had a chat with me saying he knew I wanted to go on loan but said it would be better if I stayed.
"Obviously it's working. He's looking at younger players. With the transfer ban it's hard but it's good experience for us. Hopefully, I can try to get more first-team games.
"He talks to you normally, tells you you're doing well and says if I want to keep training with them I need to keep my standards up.
"I wanted to follow my dream and to play in the Premier League and choosing Chelsea has turned out to be the right move. I'm enjoying it. The plan for me was set up and I'm now ahead of the plan.
"I thought I was going to play two years at Under-18s but I played one at 18s and then moved on to the Under-23s.
"This year should be my first year at 23s but I'm one of the senior players. I am training with the first team and I have had a couple of games so I'm in a good position now."