Sarri: England were right to drop Loftus-cheek

Maurizio Sarri has again been critical of Ruben Loftus-cheek’s tactical nous, insisting it was right that he was dropped from Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Loftus-cheek made his first start under Chelsea’s new head coach in the 1-0 Europa League win over MOL Vidi on Thursday, but was taken off after 66 minutes. Now Sarri, who has raised question marks over the tactical side of Loftus-cheek’s game before, wants the 22-year-old to learn, particularly defensively.

“I have seen he is a great player from the technical and physical point of view,” said the Italian. “He has to improve from a tactical point of view. I want more because we conceded three, four counterthe

attacks to the opponent. We have to do better, especially in these cases, with the mistakes. But I’m sure he will improve.

“I think for the player it’s better to stay in Cobham [Chelsea’s training ground]. At the moment, for him, it’s important to have a lot of training. In the last three, four weeks, he hasn’t been training a lot. I think now it’s better for him to stay to work.”

Loftus-cheek is likely to be back on the bench for tomorrow’s trip to Southampton, but he could be offered an escape route from Stamford Bridge by Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, who has confirmed he would be happy to

welcome the midfielder back at Selhurst Park after he spent last season on loan in south London.

“We admire him, we like him very much and we wish him well,” said Hodgson. “Like a lot of other clubs, I’m sure, when the day comes when he becomes available for transfer, we will be sticking our noses into that. But whether we will get him again, that’s another matter. He did an outstanding job for us when he came here and really, for us, answered all the questions we hoped he would answer.”

Another who has struggled to claim a regular place is Cesc Fabregas, who was also handed a rare start against Vidi and has opened up on his future, insisting he would love to stay at Stamford Bridge when his contract expires at the end of the season.

“I’m open about a new contract,” the midfielder, 31, said. “The club has not said anything. I have eight months left and at the moment I’m gone. I’d love to stay, [but] I don’t think I’ll end my career here.”