Eden Hazard has talked up Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s ability and declared him ready for regular first-team opportunities at Chelsea.
The England midfielder enjoyed a successful loan stint at Crystal Palace last season, making 24 appearances in the Premier League and winning a spot in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.
Maurizio Sarri is now weighing up whether to grant the 22-year-old an extended chance to impress at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard, who went head-to-head with Loftus-Cheek in the third-place play-off in Russia, is clear on where his team-mate should spend the upcoming campaign.
“I know his quality. He is young, he is powerful. The future will be top for him.”
Loftus-Cheek made his Premier League debut for Chelsea in January 2015 and has appeared in 22 top-flight matches for the London club.
Under new manager, Antonio Conte, Loftus-Cheek was deployed as a striker, playing alongside Diego Costa during preseason. After the loan departure of Bertrand Traoré, Loftus-Cheek was handed the number 14 shirt prior to the season’s beginning, switching from his previous number 36.
On 23 August 2016, Loftus-Cheek made his first appearance of the season, starting against Bristol Rovers in the Second round of the EFL Cup. He started the build-up of the first goal, as well as providing the assist to the third goal scored by Michy Batshuayi, which turned out to be the winner of a 3–2 victory.He received a standing ovation as he was coming-off for Oscar in 82nd minute, and was also praised by Conte after the match.
On 12 July 2017, Loftus-Cheek joined fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace on a season-long loan. He made his debut on the opening day of the season during their 3–0 home defeat against Huddersfield Town, playing for the full 90 minutes.
On 25 November 2017, Loftus-Cheek scored his first goal for the London side in a 2–1 victory over Stoke City. Following some impressive form, Loftus-Cheek was rewarded with a senior call-up by manager Gareth Southgate to the England squad for their fixtures against Germany and Brazil in November 2017.
After his first-team debut, Barney Ronay of The Guardian described Loftus-Cheek as an “intriguing” player of “long-striding grace” saying that with his “shielding, covering, deep-playmaking presence with a calmness in possession and a naturally telescopic reach” he would be a good fit for the senior England national team. Loftus-Cheek was compared to Germany great Michael Ballack by former Chelsea and England manager Glenn Hoddle, who said that: “He reminds me of Ballack – physically and the way he plays”, and went on to say: “He gets in the box and he moves well off the ball.”
Throughout his career, Loftus-Cheek has been playing either as a central or defensive midfielder, but former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte stated that he sees Loftus-Cheek with the potential of a striker since he has “good technique, good personality and he is good one vs one