Ruben
Loftus-Cheek has earned positive reviews during his loan spell at Selhurst
Park this season. Here, Nick Wright checks on the Chelsea youngster's
progress ahead of Crystal Palace's meeting with Leicester City live on
Sky Sports on Saturday.
Crystal Palace climbed out of the bottom three with their late 2-1 win over
Watford on Tuesday night. It was an important result which boosted their
Premier League survival hopes, and it was also another valuable 90 minutes
in what's proving to be a productive loan spell for Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The 21-year-old moved to Selhurst Park having made only six substitute
appearances during Chelsea's title-winning campaign last year, but he has
had no such difficulties establishing himself in south London, starting 12
of Palace's 17 games so far. The circumstances could hardly have been
tougher, but he was a key figure for Frank de Boer and he enjoys the same
status under Roy Hodgson.
The last two months have brought a goal, an assist and a dazzling senior
debut for England against Germany, and with summer signings Danny Drinkwater
and Tiemoue Bakayoko yet to settle back at Stamford Bridge, many Chelsea
supporters are wondering why the club let him go in the first place.
Chelsea will hope Loftus-Cheek's first run of regular first-team football
serves them well in the future and there have even been suggestions that he
could be called back in January, but right now Palace are the ones feeling
the benefits. Loftus-Cheek is enjoying the kind of opportunities he was not
afforded by his boyhood club.
The only question for Hodgson is whether he could be getting more from him.
Loftus-Cheek's brilliant performance as England's No 10 against Germany,
when he outshone Mesut Ozil to claim the man-of-the-match award, was
evidence of where he is most effective, but he has not started a game
centrally for Palace since Hodgson's appointment.
Instead, he has been moved to the flanks in a 4-4-2 formation. Against
Watford, he was stationed on the left. It is not his natural position and
there were moments when it showed. He lacked the defensive awareness to pick
up right-back Daryl Janmaat for Watford's opener, and he struggled to get
involved in an attacking sense too. At half-time, only Christian Benteke had
had fewer touches.
It was telling that his best moments came on the rare occasions he was able
to get into central areas. He drew a foul on the edge of Watford's box with
one darting dribble infield just before the break, and there was some neat
interplay with Wilfried Zaha early in the second half. If it wasn't for a
heroic block from Adrian Mariappa after that, he might have even had a goal.
Playing in wide areas does allow Loftus-Cheek to showcase his one-on-one
ability - he ranks among the Premier League's top players for successful
dribbles this season with an average of 3.2 per 90 minutes - but it gives
him fewer opportunities to pick the kind of defence-splitting passes which
earned him so many plaudits at Wembley.
It is something for Hodgson to ponder as Palace prepare for the hectic run
of fixtures ahead, but the fact that Loftus-Cheek has completed the 90
minutes in 10 of his last 11 starts suggests the manager is already
satisfied with what he is delivering. For a player Gareth Southgate recently
described as "not hugely confident at times", that faith could be an
invaluable boost to his self-belief.
It all adds up to what might yet prove to be a beneficial loan spell for
everyone. Loftus-Cheek may have been useful for Antonio Conte over the last
few months, but in terms of his development, a regular starting role at
Palace far outweighs the likely alternative of more sporadic appearances for
a Chelsea side with more experienced options.
When Loftus-Cheek does eventually return to Stamford Bridge, he will hope to
be in a stronger position to make a lasting impact. And if his progress
continues as it has started at Crystal Palace, there has to be a good chance
of that happening.
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