Chelsea have confirmed their midfielder Jordan Houghton has left the club temporarily and joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season.
He came up through the ranks of the club's youth setup and signed his first professional contract in 2014. His current deal will expire after the end of the next season.
The 20-year-old left Stamford Bridge and joined Gillingham in July 2015 and his loan move to Gillingham expired in January this year. His former club decided against extending his loan deal, which them saw him return to his parent club.
Houghton has now joined League Two side on loan for the remainder of the season.
A statement on Chelsea's official website read, " Chelsea Under-21 squad midfielder Jordan Houghton has today (Thursday) joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season."
"The 20-year-old, who has won the FA Youth Cup with the Blues and is an England Under-20 international, spent the first half of this season on loan at Gillingham. Plymouth are currently third in League Two," it added.
Argyle manager Derek Adams has revealed his thoughts after his side managed to secure the services of Chelsea Under-21 midfielder.
"Jordan's a central midfield player; right-sided, good on the ball; a good passer. He can score goals; create chances," he told the club's official website.
"He's 6ft and 20 years of age and looking to move his career on at Chelsea. It gives him the benefit of coming here and trying to get some first-team football. He will probably have looked at the likes of Boateng, Threlkeld and Tanner, who are younger players like himself, and have all come in and benefited from that.
"He's played for England at a number of age levels, right up to Under-20. To be in the system at Chelsea from a young age is obviously beneficial to him. This is just the next stage in his progression to try to make the Chelsea first-team one day."
