Sarri: Loftus-Cheek Important To Chelsea  (Sky Sports)

Maurizio Sarri says Ruben Loftis-Cheek is an "important" player for Chelsea but he needs to improve tactically.

Loftus-Cheek struggled to break into the squad earlier in the season, despite a successful loan spell at Crystal Palace and representing England at the World Cup.

But the 22-year-old has featured in the Blues' last seven games, and Sarri says the versatile player will one day have a "permanent" place in the squad as he continues to develop.

"He is a very good player, his potential is great and he played seven matches out of seven in the last month," Sarri said, ahead of Chelsea's fixture against Leicester on Saturday.

"I think four in the starting XI and three on the bench. We are very happy with him, he is improving from a tactical point of view.

"In the last match he played as a winger, but I think in the future he will be a midfielder but sometimes we need him as a winger, especially in the last couple of matches.

"At the moment he is a very important player for us and in the future he will be a permanent player for us."

Asked what Loftus-Cheek needs to do to improve, Sarri said: "He is improving tactically but he needs to improve more.

"He is very good with the ball but he has to improve in movements without the ball and defensively because a match is 90 minutes, and if you are lucky you have the ball for two minutes, so you have to play 88 minutes in the defensive phase or offensive phase without the ball."