Ruben has to show he can reach the right benchmark
MAURIZIO Sarri has refused to make any promises to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and issued a stark challenge to the England midfielder – prove you are worth a place at Chelsea. Loftus-Cheek was left out of Sarri’s squad altogether for last Saturday’s win over Arsenal and was only on the bench for the opening-day victory at Huddersfield. The 22-year-old had a good World Cup with England, starting three games as Gareth Southgate’s team reached the semi-finals. But he could find himself out of contention when the England coach names his squad for the games against Spain and Switzerland next week because he has hardly played since. Loftus-Cheek even returned early from his holidays after the World Cup to try to prove himself to new manager Sarri, but has so far found himself squeezed out. Clubs in Germany, France and Spain are all watching his situation but Sarri, as he prepared his team to face Newcastle at St James’ Park tomorrow, said the midfielder would be staying until at least January.
And he laid it on the line for Loftus-Cheek as he said: “I am not able to promise anything to anybody. It’s up to him.
“I usually look at training and then I decide on the team. So it’s up to him only.
“I can understand his frustration. But I have to decide.
“The problem in England is the bench. In Italy, the list for the match is 23 players. Here it is only 18. So every match I have to decide who is on the bench.
“Sometimes I want to have two wingers. Other times, I want to have two midfielders. Last week Ruben was not in the squad because it was a decision about the positions. I chose to put two wingers on the bench and only one midfielder.
“I have spoken with Ruben twice this week, after I spoke with the club. I think he will remain with us. We can speak again about his situation, but only in December.
“For me, it’s very easy. I have to look at the training and then I decide. It’s not so easy for the players in this period because we play only once a week.
“I told the players that, this month, they have to be patient. In the future, starting from September, three times we will play three games in a week, so there will be space for everybody.”
Loftus-Cheek spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he first caught Southgate’s attention. England defender
Gary Cahill, yet to play a minute under Sarri and a target now for Turkish club Galatasaray, is in the same position.
Sarri said: “For a defender it’s more difficult to play in my team after only 20 days of training.
“It’s easier for an offensive player. At the moment, he needs to have a lot more defensive training with us.
“I told him that needs to be patient, but that he is very important for us.”
Last night, Sarri’s former employer at Napoli, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, once again took a swipe at his ex-manager, saying: “We gave Sarri everything and in three years we didn’t win anything.”
Sarri grinned: “He is talking about me because he is missing me. Do I miss him? No.
“I am not disappointed that he says things like this. He is used to doing it.”