Loftus-Cheek sees future at Chelsea, hoping to regain form, confidence at Fulham

Ruben Loftus-Cheek made his second start in just as many games since joining Fulham on Transfer Deadline Day, and while they did not emerge victorious against Crystal Palace, it was a positive sign as far Ruben’s plans for the season are concerned.

The 24-year-old midfielder is hoping to rediscover his form and his confidence at ironically named Craven Cottage, after a handful of disappointing showings for Chelsea that followed a full year on the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles tendon. And as he revealed in a recent interview, the idea for this solution, with his Chelsea future in mind, came from him rather than the club or the manager.

“I was the one who initiated it. I felt like it was paramount that I played a lot of football this season.

“With the strength in depth at Chelsea and how I was feeling, I was not sure being out for so long that when I had the opportunity that I could play fantastically and hold down a place in the starting XI. I was not 100 per cent I could do that, because I need to build my confidence back up. That was basically the theme of the chat. The gaffer agreed on that and things went on from there.”

“I still see my future at Chelsea. I believe in my ability 100 per cent. This is obviously not a permanent move. This is a platform for me to go and express myself and find that form that was showing a couple of seasons ago. I believe in my ability, and we will see where that takes me.”

The devastating injury came just as he had finally established himself at Chelsea, playing a key role in the late-season surge to a third place finish and the Europa League final under Maurizio Sarri, scoring 10 goals in 40 appearances in the process. He was also featuring regularly for England, including three starts at the 2018 World Cup.

Like when he went on loan to Crystal Palace, the hope is that playing regularly at Fulham will get him back not only into the Chelsea team but the England squad as well (especially with Euro 2020 2021 coming up in the summer).

“There is a target there definitely, and that is definitely in the back of my mind.

“But at the forefront is Fulham. I think if I play well with Fulham there is a chance, and that will be a consequence of what I do here.”

-Ruben Loftus-Cheek; source: The Sun

Hopefully RLC’s plans indeed work out. Fulham are off to a most terrible start however, sitting rock bottom with just one point from their first six games and already out of the League Cup as well.