Ruben
Loftus-Cheek accepts why there are calls for him to leave Chelsea but says
he is intent on staying at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder is yet to start a Premier League game this season as Chelsea
prepare to welcome Crystal Palace on Super Sunday, the club where
Loftus-Cheek made 21 starts in the league last season.
Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic are currently ahead of Loftus-Cheek in the
pecking order, while N'Golo Kante and Jorginho have started every league
game to date.
The lack of game-time has led to questions around Loftus-Cheek's future, and
while head coach Maurizio Sarri said he will not leave on loan in January,
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp suggested the 22-year-old might have to
move for the sake of his career.
Asked by Soccer AM's Tubes if he takes notice of those calls to leave,
Loftus-Cheek said: "I hear it a lot, and I can see why people are saying
that, because I'm 22 now and haven't got too many Premier League starts to
my name.
"I haven't played too many minutes, whether it be in the Premier League and
the Championship, and at 22 it's not seen as enough by some people. I do
hear it. I love the club and I love Chelsea, I want to play for Chelsea.
"Last season [moving to Palace on loan] was a decision I made because I
hadn't played any football really, at the age of 21, and last season was
great for me at Palace - 24 [appearances] I think I had in the Premier
League, and then to go on and make my England debut. I made a lot of steps
last year.
"Playing football was massive for me and you can see why people want to see
me play, and I want to play as well."
Despite being reduced to three Premier League appearances off the bench,
Loftus-Cheek has impressed in the cup competitions, most notably scoring a
hat-trick in the Europa League when starting against BATE last week.
He will hope that form translates to start on Sunday, in a match which sees
Chelsea head coach Sarri come up against Roy Hodgson in the dugout.
Loftus-Cheek worked under Palace boss Hodgson last season as the club
recovered from a poor start to safely secure their Premier League status,
and the midfielder says there are some similarities with Sarri's methods at
Chelsea.
"Roy doesn't do most of the training. He does a lot of the tactics. When he
first came in he spent a lot of time on tactics defensively and every day
just trying to nail it," Loftus-Cheek added.
"It took a bit of time but then we got into a rhythm and we had that good
run in the league. His ways really stuck with us and had a benefit on the
team.
"Sarri is very big on tactics as well. We do stuff repeatedly day in, day
out on shape. So in a way it's similar.
"Sarri likes to be aggressive on the press, which I think is good for
Chelsea to be a dominant team."
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