12.  RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK

Loftus-Cheek joined Chelsea at the age of eight. He impressed at the beginning of the 2011–12 season before picking up a hip injury, from which he recovered by the end of the season to make a substitute appearance in the 2012 FA Youth Cup final. In the 2012–13 season, Loftus-Cheek made 18 appearances for the U-18 squad and 9 appearances for the U-21 squad, at the end of the season he was rewarded for his good form to travel with a place in the first-team squad for a post season friendly against Manchester City in May 2013. In 2013–14 Loftus-Cheek captained Chelsea U18 as they won the FA Youth Cup and was a regular for the U21s as they won the Under-21 Premier League.

2014–15 season
Loftus-Cheek made his senior debut for the club on 10 December 2014, replacing Cesc Fàbregas for the final 7 minutes of a UEFA Champions League group match against Sporting Lisbon at Stamford Bridge; Chelsea won 3–1 having already come first in the group. He played his first Premier League game on 31 January 2015, coming on for Oscar in added time at the end of a 1–1 home draw against Manchester City.

On 3 February, Loftus-Cheek was promoted into José Mourinho's first team squad alongside fellow teenager Isaiah Brown.

On 13 April, Loftus-Cheek played for Chelsea U19 in the final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Shakhtar Donetsk in Switzerland which ended with a 3–2 victory for Chelsea. On 10 May 2015, Loftus-Cheek was awarded his first start against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, playing 60 minutes and recording a 100% pass completion record, before being replaced by Nemanja Matić, in a game that ended 1–1 draw. Loftus-Cheek played his last game of the season on May 18 against West Bromwich Albion. Although Loftus-Cheek only made three league appearances out of the whole season, José Mourinho stated that he would receive a winner's medal for his contributions this season.

Chelsea manager José Mourinho said following Chelsea's 1-0 post-season victory over Sydney FC that Loftus-Cheek didn't work hard enough for the team, stating "He has to learn that at 19, you have to run three times more than the others (the senior players), you have to play to your limits and not play like a superstar with the ball at your feet because this is not Under-18s." Mourinho went on to say that Loftus-Cheek "doesn’t press, doesn’t have intensity and he’s waiting for everybody else to recover the ball."

However, a week later, Mourinho stated, "Loftus-Cheek cannot waste his talent by not wanting to give everything he can. I always think if you don't have talent you can't blame yourself. But when you are a big talent you cannot waste your talent"