According to the Guardian, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to reject Schalke in favour of a prolonged stay at Chelsea. The English international has been identified as the ideal replacement for Max Meyer, who moved to Crystal Palace earlier this summer.
Loftus-Cheek, however, is keen on fighting for his place at Chelsea this season following an impressive campaign with Crystal Palace, which earned him a place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But, will it turn out to be a prudent move?
A product of the Chelsea youth academy, Loftus-Cheek was promoted to the senior side back in 2015. But, after failing to get regular game-time at Chelsea, he was shipped off to Crystal Palace last season. He scored two goals and provided four assists, firing Palace into a mid-table finish.
That being said, getting regular game-time at Chelsea is a rather difficult proposition for the 22-year-old, who will easily go down the pecking order following the additions of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic. In addition, Chelsea also boasts the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Ross Barkley, further diminishing Loftus-Cheek’s value at Stamford Bridge.
Thus, a temporary transfer to Schalke could be the ideal move for the former Crystal Palace star as far as his career is concerned. As iterated earlier, the Royal Blues have had to deal with the departure of Meyer while midfielder star Leon Goretzka has also left the club on a free transfer.
As a result, new signings Suat Serdar and Omar Mascarell remain Schalke’s only reliable options in central midfield along with former Tottenham star Nabil Bentaleb, whose form in the Bundesliga has been rather mixed. Thus, Loftus-Cheek could find it easy to get proper game-time at the Veltins Arena.
Schalke head coach Domenico Tedesco boasts an impressive repertoire of nurturing promising players. He is also very good at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a particular player and can, therefore, bring out the full potential of that corresponding player.
Max Meyer, for instance, saw his depleting career revived by the trainer, who pulled out a masterstroke by deploying him as the deep-lying playmaker last season. Similarly, a move to Ruhrpott will present Ruben Loftus-Cheek with the opportunity of working with a coach, who has the potential of bringing out the best of this highly rated Chelsea starlet.
However, unless Schalke come up with an improved offer for the English international, his move to the Bundesliga will remain a far-fetched analogy.