Three big questions: Chelsea Ruben Loftus-Cheek and recovery

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on July 14, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

2. How does he fit into midfield or attack now?

Sarri’s midfield at Napoli (i.e., his blueprint at Chelsea and latter Juventus) was made of one deep lying playmaker (Jorginho), one box to box style player (N’Golo Kante), and one attacking midfielder to drive in between lines. That last role was the one Sarri struggled to fill the most at Chelsea.

Mateo Kovacic was brought in to fill the spot, but he was more suited to the other two roles and lacked the goals and assists to really make the attacking role his own. Ross Barkley was better suited, but wilted under the constraints of the highly rehearsed circuits of Sarrismo. Sarri eventually found his man in Loftus-Cheek.

Loftus-Cheek did well in the role because of his ability to drive forward on the ball as well as his ability to find space off it. He was seemingly always available and as soon as the ball was his, he could drive at the opponent with few being able to stop him. A key dribble there, a perfect pass there, and he or a teammate were through.

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That was before the injury. That style of play relied on explosiveness that Loftus-Cheek may not possess anymore. Frank Lampard, in Loftus-Cheek’s brief appearances this season, tried to find a solution but more work is to be done yet.

On paper, Loftus-Cheek lined up in midfield for Lampard. In practice, he stayed high as Willian came in underneath him. This saved Loftus-Cheek from having to run up and down the pitch and he performed almost like an inside forward close to goal.

That is one solution. Another solution is to bring him deeper and take advantage of his passing range which is nearly unparalleled in the squad. The draw back to this is it would put defensive duties on to Loftus-Cheek, something he never truly excelled at.

Both ideas are predicated on assuming Loftus-Cheek will not be returning to his old speed and explosiveness. Playing him higher up the pitch on the “wing” may be the best solution as he recovers/if he does not fully recover his speed. It will be interesting to see how Lampard deploys him next season.

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