Categories: EPLNews

Does Ruben Loftus-Cheek deserve a new Chelsea contract?

Chelsea is reportedly preparing to offer Ruben Loftus-Cheek a new contract at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.

As per the report, the Blues are keen to extend the midfielder’s stay at Stamford Bridge and they are ready to offer him a bumper new deal, especially with his current deal is set to expire in 2021.

Loftus-Cheek was scarcely used by Maurizio Sarri in the beginning of the season, starting only two Premier League games before the year’s turn.

He was a regular fixture from the bench with 17 substitute appearances in the top flight this season, scoring five goals and making two assists.

The 23-year-old, though, is finding his form in recent games, featuring from the start four times in the league, contributing four goals.

He was particularly impressive in the Europa League semi-final clash against Eintracht Frankfurt last week with Sarri opting for the colossal English ahead of Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley.

At the start of the season, the stubborn Chelsea boss said Loftus-Cheek did not have the attributes to play in his system.

Reminded of his manager’s previous comments, Loftus-Cheek said as quote by The Sun: “We had a chat and I told him that eventually, I want to be a midfielder.

He respects that.“I see myself as a No8, to get up and down. Early in your career, you want to play anywhere, just to play.

“Wherever I play, I will do my best. In Kiev, I was in midfield. It was perfect for me to get that fitness in midfield in my legs.”

At 6’3”, Loftus-Cheek is a powerhouse of a center midfielder. In the mould of a Yaya Toure or Patrick Viera, Loftus-Cheek has the ability to dominate the central area.

Within Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1, he is a prototypical Mourinho player; tall, powerful and strong. Although he can play further up the pitch, his best position is as a CDM.

However, the defensive aspect always suffered. Under Sarri, those deficiencies vanished. it’s highly expected that they will face a lot of challenge consider Arsenal’s duo strikers Pierre Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, these challenges place Arsenal as a small favourite of winning according to top bookmakers in the UK who are predicting the score of 1 – 2 to Arsenal.

“At the beginning of the season, he was a very offensive midfielder. Now he is complete I think. Maybe he’s ready to start most of the games.”

This post was last modified on July 1, 2019 12:32 pm

Biyi Akangbe

Biyi is an editor at Soccernet.ng. He has been in the media industry for almost a decade and has worked with top publishers in Nigeria. He loves Sports, Games and Music! biyi@soccernet.com.ng Twitter: @its_biyi

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