Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen says his time on-loan with Borussia Monchengladbach was a huge boost to his career.

The Dane explained why he pushed to spend two years in Germany.

"It was the first big step I took," he told the club's website.

"I joined the first team here, but I was 18, so I knew I wasn't really going to get the games I needed to keep developing. Having not played any regular first team football, the Bundesliga seemed right for me, and it turned out to be.

"It was only supposed to be a year, but I wanted to make it two years so I had one year to learn the league and the second year to really push for it. I ended up playing the first year as well, so it was perfect for me.

"It also made me grow as a person. I still lived in digs when I was here. Living on your own does something to you, it's hard to explain what it is, but you have to take care of yourself and be ready to perform."