The Pride of London
Fansided

Chelsea: Impossible to keep Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley happy

By Carlos Amanya

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Ross Barkley of Chelsea and Tino Anjorin during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Everton FC at Stamford Bridge on March 8, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Ross Barkley of Chelsea and Tino Anjorin during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Everton FC at Stamford Bridge on March 8, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 13: Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Fulham takes on Ferran Torres of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on March 13, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 13: Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Fulham takes on Ferran Torres of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage on March 13, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

The conundrum

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that both players have been underwhelming, albeit for varying reasons. In search of playtime, Loftus-Cheek left Chelsea for Crystal Palace in the 2017/18 season and his stellar showings were rewarded by Gareth Southgate who gave him his first senior call-up, and eventually included him in the 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. While he was out on loan, Barkley joined Chelsea in January 2018. He finished the season with an FA Cup medal but did not do enough to travel with the national team to Russia. Both players found themselves at Chelsea at the start of the 2018/19 season. Mauricio Sarri had just joined Napoli bringing Jorginho with him. The Brazilian-born Italian maestro was placed at the base of a midfield three, flanked by Kante to his right and Kovacic preferred to his left.

Related Story. Chelsea transfer roundup for 12 July to 18 July, 2021. light

Every Chelsea fan would groan nearing the 70th minute because of Sarri’s insistence on sticking with his favored formation and always substituting Barkley for Kovacic. While Barkley had a good run, even scoring in three consecutive games including the last minute equalizer against Manchester United, it’s Loftus-Cheek who grabbed the season with both hands, playing an influential role in leading the club to the Europa League final only for injury to strike again. His Achilles gave up on him during a charity match against New England Revolution, aimed at raising awareness on anti-Semitism. According to transfermarkt.com, the injury put him out of action for 280 days, making him miss 38 games.

Home/Chelsea FC News