It has been an odd season for Ruben Loftus-Cheek as everyone expected it to be his break out year, but it has only been in the change of manager that the young midfielder has started to blossom. After an impressive performance against Liverpool on his first Premier League start last season expectations were high, but with Jose Mourinho’s policy on youth development, Loftus-Cheek’s early progression came to a halt and he’s back to being a fringe player.
The England U21 star played only his second full match of the season against Aston Villa in which he scored his second goal of the season. Now that the season is pretty much over, Hiddink has promised to experiment with some of the youth and fringe players; Ruben has had his say on the matter:
If the boss decides to put a few young players in it will be great for us and the Academy. We haven’t had the best season, that’s obvious, but we still want to win every game. As a team it’s massive to keep that winning mentality and try to use it to start next season well.
It would be great if the manager decides to give us more games between now and the end of the season. We don’t have much to play for now, so it’s a good chance for us boys to get some game time.
At the start of this week, Chelsea officially announced the appointment of new head coach, Antonio Conte, with the Italian enforcer taking up his new job at the conclusion of the 2016 European championship. Ruben having has his eyes on the coming season, and he says it’s an important period of time for every player.
We want to impress. Everybody still needs to be at their best and that’s down to us individually. You know the new manager might be watching and when you play, every player wants to do their best.
Loftus-Cheek’s contribution in games is starting to increase as he bagged himself a goal last weekend and got the penalty against West Ham that Fabregas tucked away the equalizer.
Looking back on that goal he said: ‘I was really happy and my passion for the game came through in that celebration. I work hard every day and to get an opportunity and score was massive for me.’
What does the future hold for Loftus-Cheek? Comment below what you think.
