Loftus-Cheek may shun Schalke and fight for place at Chelsea
Schalke are among the European clubs interested in signing Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan from Chelsea this month.
The Bundesliga club are set to try to land Loftus-Cheek having seen Chelsea sign Mateo Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid, but the prospect of the 22-yearold being allowed to leave is described as “extremely unlikely”.
Loftus-Cheek did not start against Huddersfield Town on Saturday but the England international is keen to stay and fight for his place.
Whether Kovacic forces Loftus-Cheek out of the squad may have a bearing on whether the midfielder changes his mind.
With Kovacic not ready to play against Huddersfield and Cesc Fabregas out injured, MauThere rizio Sarri, the new head coach, started Ross Barkley in his midfield three alongside Jorginho and N’Golo Kante. LoftusCheek replaced Barkley with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Sarri faces another big decision over his midfield for the visit of Arsenal on Saturday. Fabregas is unlikely to have fully recovered from his knee injury in time to face his old club, and Sarri will check Kovacic’s condition this week.
If fit, the Croat will contend with Barkley and Loftus-Cheek for Chelsea’s third midfield spot.
Loftus-Cheek’s contract has three years left to run and Chelsea would have to consider selling him at the end of this season should the player refuse a new deal and decide he must leave. — The Daily Telegraph