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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Ruben Loftus-Cheek can leave Chelsea on loan, but Frank Lampard still sees bright Blues future for midfielder

Loftus-Cheek needs minutes with West Ham interested in the 24-year-old. (Picture: Getty Images)

Frank Lampard has opened the door for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to leave Chelsea on loan this week - but he insists the midfielder still has a long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

West Ham are among a host of Premier League clubs interested in taking Loftus-Cheek on loan and Lampard has given the green light for him to depart to get regular football.

Loftus-Cheek has been left out of the Chelsea squad for their past three matches and the 24-year-old needs game time to help his comeback from the Achilles injury that saw him miss a year of football.

Lampard said: “I am very open with Ruben. We have had a couple of conversations in the last week. He is as fit as a fiddle by the way, so he can play week in, week out and he needs to play.

"There is a possibility that Ruben may go out to play games, because that would be great for him. We hold him in very high regard here.

“If that is not the right option, he will be competitive in this squad as well because of the qualities he has and hopefully he could be a big plus for us.

“I would not say I am relaxed about it but I want to find the best path for Ruben and us. We will see, with the week we have ahead of us.

“He has had a difficult time, the injury he had was a bad one. He has not played as many minutes as he would have liked.

"Just before his injury he was playing really well, contributing and I was always looking forward to working with him because I know what he can do. We will make that decision on what is best for him and what is best for us.

“He wants to play. The reality is that I have a lot of competition in those areas. Ruben is very versatile. He can play different roles in midfield and sometimes off the sides.”

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