Ruben Loftus-Cheek is well on his way to becoming the player we always hoped he could be.
And about time too – he’s 23 now after all. But after a long period where it really looked like it wasn’t going to work out for him, especially at Chelsea, it’s finally falling into place.
You only had to hear Maurizio Sarri talk about his development yesterday in the press conference to know how happy he is with Ruben’s work. He talked about how he has changed from a player who was purely offensive, to one that understands the game tactically a lot better.
That’s good to hear, and he’s unquestionably been excellent when he’s played this season, but the question has always been more about his fitness than his ability. His back injury has been more frustrating than ever this season as he’s repeatedly earned a spot in the team before missing games due to the chronic issue.
In the end, only Ruben and the medics can solve this. It seems like he will be a fragile player forever – one who can’t play twice in a week, or even train after a game, as Sarri mentioned yesterday. He may also be able to grow out of these issues in the long term.
Either way, having Ruben for one game a week is fine by us, especially if he plays like he did against Brighton.