Ruben Loftus-Cheek may leave Chelsea on loan, says Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard has said Chelsea are considering whether to aid Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s rehabilitation from an achilles injury by sending the midfielder out on loan while Marcos Alonso could be on his way out of the club after clashing with Lampard after the 3-3 draw against West Bromwich Albion.
Although Lampard stressed LoftusCheek remains part of his long-term plans, he said the 24-year-old could benefit from a loan move after leaving him out of Chelsea’s last three matchday squads. Aston Villa, Southampton and West Ham are among several clubs monitoring the England international, who has found opportunities hard to come by since recovering from his injury.
Alonso, meanwhile, felt Lampard’s wrath after he tried to watch the second half of the game at the Hawthorns from the team coach rather than with the other substitutes. The Spaniard had been taken off after 45 minutes. with Chelsea trailing 3-0, and went to the team coach without his manager’s permission. Alonso, who has been at Chelsea since 2016, will now have to work hard to regain his manager’s trust and may yet leave before the transfer window closes on 5 October.
Regarding Loftus-Cheek, Lampard said: “I’m very open with Ruben. We’ve had a couple of conversations in the last week. He’s fit as a fiddle so he can play week in, week out. He needs to play. He’s done a lot of work now. He would have been playing earlier if it wasn’t for lockdown and restart. There’s a possibility that Ruben may go out to play games because that would be great for him.
“We hold him in very high regard. I certainly do and that could be a good option for him. If that’s not the right option he’ll be competitive in this squad as well. I’m relaxed about it but I want to find the best path for Ruben and I want to find the best path for us.”
Loftus-Cheek, who needs game time to win a place in England’s squad for the European Championship next summer, has struggled since sustaining his injury in May 2019. His rehabilitation was disrupted by lockdown and he failed to impress after being handed a rare start when Chelsea visited Brighton on the opening weekend of the season.
Lampard could hand Loftus-Cheek another chance when Chelsea visit Tottenham in the fourth round of the Ca
rabao Cup on Tuesday. Chelsea have plenty of competition for places in attacking midfield and Lampard feels that a temporary move could help the academy graduate kickstart his career.
“He’s had a difficult time,” Lampard said. “The injury was a bad one. He hasn’t played as many minutes for this club as he would have liked for different reasons. Just before his injury he was playing really well and contributing. I was always looking forward to him getting back fit and working with him.
“He wants to play and the reality is I have a lot of competition in those areas. Ruben is versatile. He can play different roles in the midfield and sometimes off the side, so I was really looking forward to working with him because I know what he can do. He gives us something slightly different in terms of his physicality. But there is also a priority for everyone that Ruben plays games. We’ll do what feels right.”
Chelsea are expected to make an opening bid for West Ham’s Declan Rice this week. However, West Ham are adamant that the defensive midfielder is not for sale.