Peter Henry
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has admitted that he understands why people have suggested he should leave Stamford Bridge for the betterment of his career.
Since his early teens Loftus-Cheek has been heralded as one of the best young talents to come through the Chelsea Academy in many years, but despite how highly-rated the attacking midfielder is in West London, he has failed to nail down a regular starting berth at Stamford Bridge.
Last season he went out on loan to Crystal Palace, and his impressive form for the Eagles resulted in him forcing his way into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the World Cup in Russia last summer, although he has struggled to even make it into Maurizio Sarri’s match days squad at times since he returned to his parent club.
Loftus-Cheek is now 22 and has made just 49 senior League appearances, which is very little when compared to Spurs and fellow England playmaker Dele Alli, who despite being younger than RLC, has made almost 200.
However, while Loftus-Cheek admits he understands why some fan and pundits are calling on him to leave the Blues in order to play more regularly, but he has revealed that he loves Chelsea and wants to succeed there.
“I hear it a lot, and I can see why people are saying that, because I’m 22 now and haven’t got too many Premier League starts to my name,” he told Sky Sports Soccer AM.
“I haven’t played too many minutes, whether it be in the Premier League and the Championship, and at 22 it’s not seen as enough by some people. I do hear it. I love the club and I love Chelsea, I want to play for Chelsea.
“Last season [moving to Palace on loan] was a decision I made because I hadn’t played any football really, at the age of 21, and last season was great for me at Palace – 24 [appearances] I think I had in the Premier League, and then to go on and make my England debut. I made a lot of steps last year.
“Playing football was massive for me and you can see why people want to see me play, and I want to play as well.”