5 Chelsea players who need to secure a move in January

#4 Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Outstanding last season at Crystal Palace, Ruben Loftus-Cheek needs to leave Chelsea for good

2018/19 was always supposed to be the season where Ruben Loftus-Cheek would finally break out at Chelsea after years of threatening to do so. He had a successful 2017/18 on loan at Crystal Palace and then performed admirably for England in the 2018 World Cup, and when he returned to Stamford Bridge the word was that new boss Maurizio Sarri was finally ready to use him as a first team player.

Unfortunately, that simply hasn’t happened. Loftus-Cheek has seen the arrivals of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic – two more central midfielders in an already packed group including N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas and Ross Barkley – and that’s been enough to push him back down the ladder through absolutely no fault of his own.

Sarri has suggested that Loftus-Cheek will be given his chance, but he was only named on the bench against PAOK last week although this could’ve been due to the current injury which has knocked him out of contention for the EFL Cup tie against Liverpool. But how much longer must the England youngster wait at Stamford Bridge? Surely he did enough to prove himself at Crystal Palace last season?

Simply put, it has to be time for Loftus-Cheek to seek a move away from Stamford Bridge, and permanently this time. Like his former teammate Nathaniel Chalobah, it’s clear that due to the situation at Chelsea – largely the revolving door of managers – he won’t be given a fair chance in the first team, and it’s that lack of experience that causes the current holes in his game, primarily with stamina.

If Chelsea refuse to sell him come January, the England international must look to force the matter somehow before time runs out for him.