Newcastle United, Sunderland, Birmingham City and Brighton and Hove Albion are all amongst the teams to have been listed in the running.
Ruben Loftus Cheek
Bookmaker BetVictor has listed both Newcastle and Sunderland as outside contenders to sign Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea during the summer transfer window, but both trail Brighton in the market.
The Tyne-Wear pair are both preparing for hugely important summers as they prepare to switch positions in the English pyramid, and it appears that BetVictor believe that they both have a chance of signing the 21-year-old, who has struggled for opportunities for the Blues this season.
Rafa Benitez’s men, who will be preparing for their return to the Premier League, are the real outsiders in the running, with BetVictor offering odds of 8/1 on the Magpies bagging his signature before the upcoming window closes.
Meanwhile, Sunderland – whose relegation to the Championship has been confirmed – are given a slightly greater chance of landing the talented midfielder, listed at 6/1, as are Birmingham City and Burnley.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
However, the two teams given the best chance of signing Loftus-Cheek are Stoke (5/1), and the team that went up alongside Newcastle automatically, Brighton, who BetVictor have listed as 4/1 favourites.
While it would hardly be a surprise if the Black Cats did want to target Loftus-Cheek following their hugely disappointing campaign, it is difficult to imagine that David Moyes will be able to win the race if the likes of Brighton, Stoke, Newcastle and Burnley are interested and Chelsea have no qualms about letting him join a top flight rival.
But with Loftus-Cheek seemingly boasting a significant amount of potential, all of the sides in the running may have to put forward a good argument if they hope to convince Chelsea that they should sanction some kind of move away from Stamford Bridge.
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