Why West Ham signing Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek would be a great move
According to The Guardian, the future of Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been thrown into question after he was excluded from the Chelsea squad for the recent games, with West Ham interested in him. Aston Villa are also said to be in the running.
Profile
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is a 24-year-old English midfielder who plays for Chelsea. He started his footballing journey at Chelsea back in 2004 and progressed through the youth teams. By 2015, he was being called up to the senior team on a sporadic basis.
The same continued for the next couple of seasons until 2017 when he was loaned to Crystal Palace for one season. He played a total of 25 games for the side, scoring 2 goals and assisting 5 (source – Transfermarkt).
In 2018, he had a good run of games in the side under then Chelsea boss, Maurizio Sarri. However, all that changed with Frank Lampard coming in. He has a total of 82 appearances for the Blues, scoring 12 and assisting 11 goals. He has won the Premier League and Europa League during that time.
Loftus-Cheek has been a regular part of the England youth sides and also has 10 caps for the senior side.
Do West Ham need him?
West Ham need some central midfielders. Mark Noble, Josh Cullen and Jack Wilshere are the only central midfielders in the squad. While Loftus-Cheek does add to that, we are forgetting how versatile he truly is.
He can play as a defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, on the left and also as a right midfielder. There were also occasions when he was used as a forward. If that isn’t a utility player, we don’t know what is.
West Ham not only get him to add volume to the midfield, they get a player who can slot in literally anywhere when required.
Verdict
Getting Loftus-Cheek for West Ham would be like getting an all in one deal. At just 24 years of age, he still has time to develop. But for that, he would need regular games, something that he won’t get at Chelsea, with all the new recruits this season.
West Ham would be getting one of the young, versatile players there is in the league. They should not pass up the opportunity to get Loftus-Cheek even if it’s on a loan deal. He would solve a lot of issues for David Moyes, starting from midfield to attack.
