Music mogul Simon Cowell has spoken out about the future of boyband One Direction and admitted that he does believe that at some stage they will start to be curious of career paths outside of the group.

During an interview with Billboard, Cowell explained that he expects the lads will eventually decide to drift in different directions as that tends to be what happens with groups who have been together since they were young:

"Eventually they probably will split up and maybe want to have their own careers. The choice is theirs, we've got the opportunity to do both. But from what I hear, they're really enjoying what they're doing."

"We don't feel there's anything wrong. They're getting more time off, I hope they stay a band for a long time."

Back in October, heartthrob Harry Styles opened up about his own plans for staying in One Direction and confessed that despite persistent rumours he has no intention of quitting: "The relationship that I've grown with these four boys that I didn't know four years ago is just absolutely incredible and it's insane. I'm very lucky that I get to spend so much time with them. I'm all good, I'm 100% in this band."