RUBEN IN A SARRI STATE
Loftus-Cheek deserves a look-in from Blues boss
CONSIDERING Maurizio Sarri used to be a banker, he should know the numbers surrounding Ruben Loftus-Cheek just don’t add up.
In the last 18 months Loftus-Cheek has started more games for England than he has for Chelsea.
The last time he had the privilege at club level was back in January 2017 – and even then it was in an FA Cup tie against Brentford.
Since then he has gone on to establish himself in the England side and was instrumental in helping them reach the World Cup semi-finals this summer.
Not that it’s made the slightest bit of difference. Loftus-Cheek might have returned from Russia a hero to some, but at Stamford Bridge he remains an outsider still looking in.
He has played less than 40 minutes of football for the Blues this season, with both his appearances coming as a second-half substitute.
Different manager, same outcome – and to the club’s shame the progress of one of their own has nothing whatsoever to do with them. One of those keeping him out of the team is Ross Barkley, who can’t even come close to getting an England call-up.
Loftus-Cheek gave an interview in the build-up to this game, admitting he loved the life of regular football on loan at Crystal Palace last season. He also admitted his lack of action with the Blues had been disappointing and that he needed to remain patient.
But Loftus-Cheek is fast approaching 23. Since 2014 the sum total of his efforts has been just six Premier League starts and 13 in total.
Unlucky for some, perhaps, but is he incapable of taking the hint? As long as Roman Abramovich continues to bankroll the club, superstar signings will continue to arrive in west London.
In his previous profession Sarri travelled across Europe, attending events in some financial hotbeds such as Zurich and London, but last night he couldn’t even be bothered to travel to Leicester to run the rule over someone capable of saving him millions in the transfer market.
You can’t smoke inside the King Power Stadium, of course, so perhaps Sarri chose to watch the game with Switzerland from the comfort of his own home.
Through the haze of cigarette fumes, Sarri might have just been able to pick out the strapping figure of Loftus-Cheek operating in an advanced role on the right side of midfield.
Let’s not kid ourselves, he is no Paul Gascoigne, who was in the stands watching the nothingness unfold. But at least he was one of the best of a bad bunch, shielding the ball, linking play well and looking to release runners ahead of him.
Flashes
He set Marcus Rashford free with a deft pass midway through the first half before seeing a deflected shot saved, showing flashes of his talent before being substituted just after the hour mark.
Considering he hasn’t started a match since July then it is unfair to expect him, or others in the same boat to be fair, to be razor-sharp.
If there’s one consolation, it’s that he isn’t alone with his predicament. Rashford, Danny Welbeck and Fabian Delph all started and considering their lack of game time at their clubs this season, it will have felt like a novel experience.
This is what it’s come to for the likes of LoftusCheek, having to feast on international football instead of the bread and butter that should be more available to him at club level.
Footballers tend to like routine, but this one in particular needs to accept a change is needed, because turning the other cheek isn’t the answer.