Guus Hiddink has told Fox Sports in the Netherlands he is set to stay at Chelsea next season as a consultant

Hiddink is keen to improve the first-team pathway for Chelsea's talented crop of young players after more than 30 of them were sent out on loan last season to clubs across Europe.

"You often see that the young players are not always easy to link up with the first team," Hiddink said.

You have to ease them through sparingly, otherwise they can end up burnt out.

"I already did that with Bertrand Traore and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but it needs to happen more often."

Hiddink also wants to bring former players such as Didier Drogba and Petr Cech back to the club, once they have retired.

He added: "They have had a great impact here. Once they are really finished with their playing careers, they can be of great value to the club, as an assistant or scout."

Former Netherlands boss Hiddink was appointed Chelsea's interim manager last December following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

He took the Blues on a 15-match unbeaten run after accepting the role in a season where he handed debuts to a number of Chelsea youngsters including Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Jake Clarke-Salter.

Sky Sports News HQ have approached Chelsea for their reaction to the story.