Ruben Loftus-Cheek putting in performances even Chelsea will notice
By George Perry
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was second only to Marcus Rashford in England’s friendly win over Costa Rica. Even Chelsea can’t help but notice their own homegrown star.
It’s been a while since we’ve done one of our “Chelsea may be dumb, but…” lines, so here goes: Chelsea may be dumb, but they’re not “fail to recognize Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s ability and readiness for the highest competitions in football” dumb. Loftus-Cheek will still likely start on the bench for England at the World Cup, but he is on track to be in Chelsea’s starting XI next season. And if he is not for any reason, the Blues need to sell the original Next John Terry before they irreversibly cripple his career.
Loftus-Cheek assisted on Marcus Rashford’s opening goal, completed 34 of 34 passes and was at the top of England’s xG chain as they downed Costa Rica 2-0. His two most impressive attributes were his play off of Marcus Rashford and his ability to protect the ball without slowing either the play or himself.
Costa Rica fouled Loftus-Cheek five times, and he engineered nearly every one of them. His first and second touches shielded the ball while moving it in the direction of play. He perfectly anticipated the Costa Rica defenders’ challenges, ensuring one of two outcomes. He either eluded the challenge and kept the play moving, or their challenge cut him down and England won a free kick. Costa Rica dispossessed him only once.
Loftus-Cheek’s touch and timing enabled England to play fast and aggressive on offence and in transition. His control under incoming pressure smoothed England’s play, and synced well with Marcus Rashford’s movements towards a final ball.
Loftus-Cheek’s ability to move the play quickly was one of many characteristics Chelsea lacked last season. The Blues often lost momentum on counter-attacks and rarely had any press because they did not have the control at pace Loftus-Cheek had against Costa Rica. Loftus-Cheek reduces the need for a striker or Eden Hazard to drop deep to get the ball and start the play. The play starts when he gets it, wherever that may be. This allows the forwards to save their energy, maintain their position, choose their timing and run off the defender for a more purposeful attack.
Gareth Southgate played Loftus-Cheek in a midfield set-up similar to how Chelsea should use him next season. Where England had Jordan Henderson and Fabian Delph, Chelsea would have Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante (as Barrett explained earlier this week). Particularly if Antonio Conte stays with a 3-5-2, Loftus-Cheek’s role in the systems will be nearly identical.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the fourth-youngest member of England’s World Cup squad. Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold are younger. Alli is unquestionably a proven and potent player in the Premier League. He is as much a part of Tottenham’s best XI as Harry Kane or Christen Eriksen. Marcus Rashford should be in a similar spot, and would be if not for Jose Mourinho. And Trent Alexander-Arnold will make his international debut at the World Cup a month after playing in the Champions League final.
Despite being older than these three – a few months in Dele’s case, three years in Alexander-Arnold’s – Loftus-Cheek is behind their development curve. And that entirely falls on Chelsea, not on him.
Alexander-Arnold had 1,576 minutes Premier League minutes with Liverpool last season: more than Loftus-Cheek cobbled together over his two with the Blues. Alexander-Arnold has 10 times as many Champions League minutes (820) than Loftus-Cheek (84). Loftus-Cheek had to go to Crystal Palace to find playing time, and spent the season helping Roy Hodgson (succesfully) dig out of the worst start in league history. Alexander-Arnold ascended through the ranks of his boyhood club, where Jurgen Klopp knew the march to Kiev was Alexander-Arnold’s path to Russia.
Chelsea must make up for lost time with Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He is exactly what they need in midfield, and any questions he did not answer at Crystal Palace he is answering with England. While he will likely play a significant role outside of the best XI for England, he must be in the starting XI next season. If that is not at Chelsea, it must be at some other similarly-situated club.
Chelsea have promoted Loftus-Cheek’s status in the club while doing little to promote his place in the squad. He was the next John Terry back when John Terry was still a regular in the starting lineup. Loftus-Cheek could still be that player, but he cannot allow Chelsea to delay their destiny any longer.
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It would take an enormous lack of footballing vision to overlook what Loftus-Cheek is capable of. It would take an enormous disregard for footballing development and ambition for Loftus-Cheek’s boyhood club to keep him on the fringes of the squad. The Chelsea way leads to some grim outlooks.