The Chelsea star spent last season on loan with Crystal Palace.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson addressed the media today, ahead of his side’s trip to Craven Cottage to take on big spenders Fulham tomorrow, and shared how he tried everything to bring Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek to Selhurst Park on transfer deadline day, as quoted by the Independent.
The Eagles had the 22-year-old England international on loan for the entirety of last season, and he really impressed for the south London outfit, chipping in with two goals and four assists in 24 Premier League outings.
Loftus-Cheek also caught the eye of Gareth Southgate, who took the young Chelsea midfielder out to Russia with the England squad for the World Cup this summer.
And Hodgson told the press today how Crystal Palace tried everything possible to bring him back to Selhurst Park for this season, as quoted by the Independent:
“Steve Parish knows how much we would have liked to get him here again. It doesn’t surprise me that they’d rather keep him and not loan him out. We did all we could do.”
Despite the fact that the Eagles missed out on Loftus-Cheek, they still enjoyed a fairly successful transfer window, bringing in Cheikhou Kouyaté for around £10 million, Vicente Guaita and Max Meyer on a free transfers and Jordan Ayew on a season-long loan.
Whether that will be enough to see them finish inside the top 10 this season, though, remains to be seen.
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