Chelsea confident about new long-term contract extension for Ruben Loftus-Cheek - report

One of the best Chelsea academy prospects of recent times, midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek was reportedly on the verge of leaving the club due to a perceived lack of opportunities and former manager José Mourinho's 'tough love' approach towards the player earlier this season. But after having a chance to play for 45 minutes, and score in our FA Cup tie against Scunthorpe United last Sunday, the prevailing narrative winds might have shifted in a more positive direction.  The Telegraph reports that Chelsea are confident about signing Ruben Loftus-Cheek to a long-term extension.

According to the report, the new deal to RLC is motivated partly by the end of his current one, signed 18 months ago, ending in another 18 months, as well as the belief that the player will have plenty of opportunities in Chelsea's first-team going forward. His new contract would be a five-year deal, with a £40,000-per-week wage due to his status of being a high-profile home-grown prospect of much promise.

It is also claimed by the Telegraph that the club might have had some worries over Loftus-Cheek's consistency on the pitch but his performances in training eased them, with Chelsea's higher-ups now confident that the player only needs a run of games to show his quality and become fully integrated into the first-team. Given Guus Hiddink's comments post-Scunthorpe, it shouldn't be much of a surprise if the midfielder is featured more often, either as a starter or from the bench.

Guus Hiddink has taken his time to, in his own words, get to know the young prospects at the team before using them in match situations.  While playing RLC in a cup tie is not exactly the riskiest approach, hopefully the manager will indeed help the 19-year-old's development in a meaningful way going forward.