Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Part 22)

In Part 21 of this series, I broke down Conor Gallagher’s career at Chelsea and discussed what his future in football looks like. For those who haven’t read the introductory piece to this series, a different player will be the subject of a new article every day. I began with goalkeepers and am currently in the process of working my way up the pitch, with each position group being sorted in order by the way in which they appear on the club’s website.

As I move on with the loan army series, I continue the deep dive into the midfield loanees with Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Despite seemingly being a part of the first team forever now, Loftus-Cheek is still just 25 years old. A lot of people have counted him out, but that may not be the case for everyone. Before jumping to conclusions, let’s break down Loftus-Cheek’s career path.

More from Chelsea FC Loan Watch

• Chelsea: The €30m January signing who will highly excel with Pochettino’s appointment
• Chelsea loan Army: How Ian Maatsen has got on at Burnley
• What’s next for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher as asking price revealed?
• The next man up for Chelsea: Left back Ian Maatsen
• The next man up for Chelsea: Center forward Mason Burstow

What does Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s Chelsea career look like?

Loftus-Cheek—similar to many that have already been discussed in this series—began his career with the Blues at a young age. He joined Chelsea’s prestigious academy at the age of eight as a part of what we know now to be one of the building’s finest group of prospects. Loftus-Cheek began to catch the eyes of the club’s first team managers during his 2011/12 season, in which he was still a schoolboy.

Injuries to his hip and groin kept him out for a large portion of the season, but he was able to recover in time to make an appearance in the Youth Cup final. The following season, he helped the Blues’ U18s reach a second consecutive Youth Cup final, splitting time with them and the U21 camp. After the trophy eluded Loftus-Cheek in 2012/13, he played an integral role in the side, winning it the following year. He was also included in the U21 Premier League-winning squad.

Jose Mourinho handed the midfielder his senior debut in December of 2014, replacing Cesc Fabregas late in a UCL match against Sporting Lisbon. He made his first Premier League appearance about a month later against Manchester City. Three days after his top flight cameo, Loftus-Cheek made the full-time jump into senior football. Mourinho awarded the youngster with a Premier League winner’s medal at the end of the year, despite him only playing in three games.

The next two seasons were a bit underwhelming for Loftus-Cheek. Chelsea was going through massive changes as Mourinho was sacked, Guus Hiddink became the interim and then Antonio Conte was named the new boss. All three men had tremendous praise for the England international, just different views on how to play him. This resulted in RLC not seeing the pitch very often. Conte saw Loftus-Cheek as a striker, a position Diego Costa had locked down. This led to the newly converted striker being sent on loan for the entire 2017/18 season.

Loftus-Cheek joined Crystal Palace for the year, where he became a staple in Roy Hodgson’s side. He played in a total of 25 games in two competitions, scoring twice and adding four assists. He was able to then come back to Stamford Bridge and claim his place in Maurizio Sarri’s squad. Loftus-Cheek tallied his best season to date under the Italian. He played 40 matches, 35 of which came in the Premier League and Europa League. The 2018/19 campaign also saw Loftus-Cheek record his most goal contributions ever (10 goals and five assists).

Unfortunately, a boneheaded decision by Sarri to play Loftus-Cheek in a friendly against the New England Revolution before the Europa League final saw him come off with an achilles injury. He hasn’t been the same since. It took Loftus-Cheek over a year to take the pitch again for the Blues. When he did, something didn’t look quite right. For this reason, Frank Lampard and Co. loaned him out to Fulham for the current season. Loftus-Cheek has played in 30 matches this season under Scott Parker, but has hardly done anything to contribute in front of goal. The road to recovery still looks like it’s being pathed, which makes the decision on his future that much more difficult.

This begs the question: what does Chelsea do with Loftus-Cheek this summer?

Verdict: Keep, loan or sell

I know, I know, you’ve read this far into the piece just to see the single most important question go relatively unanswered. I promise Loftus-Cheek is going to be the only player with such designation on this list, but I do have a good reason for my stance. Beginning with keep, we have no idea what formation Thomas Tuchel is going to play next season. If he sticks with the 3-4-3, the only way Loftus-Cheek could likely get into the side is as the striker Conte always wanted him to be. He’s too undisciplined on the ball at this point in time to play as a No. 6 in Tuchel’s midfield pivot. That said, he could fit into the midfield or up high if the German opts to change his tactics.

The best example of why Loftus-Cheek should go out on loan is right in front of us in Kurt Zouma. Zouma—like Loftus-Cheek—was one of Chelsea’s most talented young stars before a devastating ACL injury kept him out. The French defender required successive loans to truly get back to form, this may be the case with Loftus-Cheek, as well. The natural ability is still in there somewhere and you cannot convince me otherwise—he just has to find it. Lastly, the hardest conclusion to come to: sell. Loftus-Cheek’s largely been underwhelming for the last season and a half. He doesn’t look like the player he was pre-injury and at 25, there isn’t much time left to wait on him. The Blues already have an incredible midfield and at this point, selling Loftus-Cheek may be best for the club’s financials.

What do you think Chelsea should do with the midfielder? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!

Remember to check back with The Pride of London each and every day as I dive into the largely uncharted world of Chelsea’s famous loan army. Part 23’s subject is midfielder Luke McCormick.