Ruben Loftus-Cheek started against Manchester United on Sunday's 1-1 draw against Manchester United. The Cobham graduate was filling in for N'Golo Kante who picked up a knee injury against Juventus in the Champions League.
But, Loftus-Cheek looked out of sorts on the pitch and it wasn't one of his finer showings. Carefree Chelsea’s social producer Jai Mcintosh (JM) spoke to Football.London's Chelsea correspondent, Sam Inkersole (SI) on Monday afternoon's Back Page show about how Loftus-Cheek fared in the match...
SI: “He kind of didn’t know what his role was. Whenever he got the ball he was always looking up and trying to find someone else. Like ‘oh no what am I doing here? Who am I going to pass to? How am I going to build the attack?
“Rather than doing what he does best. Which is getting on the ball, on those driving runs and getting the ball forward. He’s an absolute brute of a man. He’s a specimen, isn't he?
“If he goes full steam ahead, he can be anyone. We saw how he took out three players in one move against Juventus. He didn’t really have a defined role yesterday.
“It was really frustrating, his reluctance to get a shot on goal was maddening for me. I was telling him to shoot. He wasn’t doing it. I think you’re right, he’s not a six. Especially bringing him into the N’Golo Kante role.
“Nobody can play the N’Golo Kante role as well as Kante can. So, you’re always going to be losing something there if you try to replace a like for like. It was a little bit of square peg in a round hole.
“It certainly shows how much Kante is missed in those kinds of games. With Ruben, it was a tough game. Probably his hardest since he’s come back into the first-team fold at Stamford Bridge. But, he’ll be fine and learn from it.
“There’s nothing to worry about with Loftus-Cheek. But, I agree that part of that double six pivot that Tuchel prefers suits, Kovacic. Then we’ll see what happens with Loftus-Cheek.”
Before this season started, many didn't expect Loftus-Cheek to get a chance in the double six roles with the loan signing of Saul. Since then Loftus-Cheek has impressed in cameo appearances to go ahead of the summer signing in the pecking order. Although it wasn't his finest display in a Chelsea shirt it does beg the question do Chelsea need to sign Saul on a permanent deal when they have Loftus-Cheek and two players impressing on loan in Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher.
What does Tuchel need to do to get the best out of Loftus-Cheek? Follow our Carefree Chelsea team members Jai, Sam and Renuka on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
