LOFTUS-CHEEK: I’M IN COLD UNTIL I LEARN SARRI’S WAY

MAURIZIO SARRI has told Ruben Loftus-Cheek he must sharpen up tactically to win a place in the Chelsea team. The 22-year-old has spent the last month on the sidelines, studying what Sarri demands of his midfielders. He was given his first start of the season by England boss Gareth Southgate on Tuesday and a lack of games for Chelsea has prompted concerns his progress is being stunted. Loftus-Cheek — who has played only 33 minutes for Chelsea this term — indicated more games will come only once Sarri is satisfied he has understood the new system. ‘We have had a lot of talks in the past couple of weeks and he said to me I need to learn tactically,’ he said. ‘So a lot of my focus and effort is learning his tactics and

his ways in training. The quicker I get that, the more opportunities I will get to play.’ Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola has paid special attention to Loftus-Cheek at Cobham, giving the youngster individual pointers. ‘He (Sarri) is helping me and Gianfranco is helping me every day to learn it as quickly as possible,’ Loftus-Cheek added. ‘I am too young (to remember Zola play) but obviously you see clips of what he did for Chelsea, so to have him as an assistant is great for us players.’ Whether Loftus-Cheek’s future lies in west London remains to be seen. Given his contract runs out in 2021, the offer of a new deal should arrive this season. Last season’s £15million signing of Ross Barkley did not help his case and Loftus-Cheek is not ruling out a return to Crystal Palace on loan in January. ‘Possibly,’ he said, ‘but it is still far away, there are still a lot of games to play. Right now my focus is Chelsea and learning at Chelsea. That (Palace) is in the future and we will deal with that when it comes. ‘There are a lot of games coming up so there will be more opportunities for players who are not playing every week.’ Meanwhile, Liverpool and Switzerland forward Xherdan Shaqiri claimed England are producing more than enough talent for the world stage. Southgate suggested his selection pool is too small but Shaqiri said: ‘There are many, many good players in the Premier League who can play for England. If you look at the team, they are very young and very talented. With that talent, they can achieve a lot.’