Sources: No decision made on Ruben Loftus-Cheek's future yet
Loftus-Cheek is playing for his Chelsea future
You may have seen the reports yesterday suggesting that Chelsea were planning to send Ruben Loftus-Cheek out on loan to Germany this season.
I looked into this and asked some questions, and I was confidently told on Sunday morning, before the Arsenal game, that Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel have yet to make a final decision on the future of Loftus-Cheek at the time of writing this.
Thomas Tuchel pretty much confirmed this and cleared it up after the Arsenal victory yesterday, saying that Loftus-Cheek’s future is in his own hands.
This suggests that in the next couple of friendlies and in training, Loftus-Cheek will be given every chance to earn a spot in Tuchel’s squad this season.
I’m not saying that he doesn’t end up in the Bundesliga this season, he may well do, but at this moment in time no final decisions have been made and Tuchel is still assessing him and his other options/potential arrivals.
We all know how much Tuchel likes his profile though, he appreciates a physical player and enjoys his style of play being direct and progressive with the ball.
The jury is out for me though whether he can play as one of the pivot’s in midfield in a Tuchel system, and even whether one of the 10 role’s is best for him. For me, he is a number 8, but if Tuchel sticks with the same system in a 3-4-3, I’m not totally convinced where Ruben fits in.
I’ll explain why. Yesterday I saw a few people criticising Loftus-Cheek losing the ball or giving away possession, which was literally only 2 or 3 times. But what people must realise is, the way Loftus-Cheek plays is progressive and fearless, he always wants to pass forward or bring the ball forward, so in a 6 role he is going to lose the ball at times, a lot like Mateo Kovacic can do as well with his progressive style.
I think Loftus-Cheek CAN play the 6 role, but I just don’t think he is the absolute ideal fit for it, and that is my concern.
I hope Tuchel keeps him in the squad, but at the same time he needs to play regular football and I’m not sure he will get it under Tuchel in this squad.
Simon Phillips