The Chelsea midfielder has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs, including West Ham United and a return to Crystal Palace.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was a Premier League star last season at Crystal Palace – enough so that it earned him a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup.
One bizarre negative of that, however, is how it created a desire for Chelsea to keep him around, not wanting to sell one of the most promising English talents around.
Unable to break into Maurizio Sarri’s side, Loftus-Cheek is yet to start a Premier League game in blue and has only managed 117 minutes in the English top flight – although he has still managed two goals.
According to a report from the Mirror, Palace are hoping to bring him back on loan in January, although Bournemouth, Newcastle United and West Ham United join them, as well as Bundesliga team Schalke 04.
It’s easy to see why they fancy their chances of tempting Chelsea this time around; the player needs minutes and the Blues can’t quite find a regular place for him – finding somewhere for him to develop properly would benefit them.
But ahead of their game with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sarri appears to have dashed all of their hopes in just a few words.
“No. I want him to stay with me, to stay with us,” he said, reports the Standard. “So I think that there is no chance [of him leaving elsewhere].”
It appears that Sarri and Chelsea feel that the best place for Loftus-Cheek to develop is right where he is – for England’s sake, we better hope he’s right.
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