Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has referred to Ruben Loftus-Cheek as ‘our player’ and insists the midfielder, who is spending this season on loan at Fulham, has a long-term future at Stamford Bridge.
Loftus-Cheek missed most of last season recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, having made 40 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea in the 2018/19 campaign.
After returning to action mostly as a substitute during ‘Project Restart’ over the summer, the loan to Fulham this season was intended to get him back up to speed in a competitive environment. But Chelsea have no intentions of letting him go when it is over.
Lampard has said he felt the Blues ‘missed’ Loftus-Cheek last season while he was injured and is happy to see him regaining full fitness and form at Craven Cottage.
“When he was getting fit, I was excited because I know the attributes he has and I wanted those attributes at the club,” Lampard explained, via ChelseaFC.com.
“The conversations I had with him earlier on in the season were about him not feeling as sharp or as good as he wanted to be off the back of a really bad injury so it was question of whether he could go and play games because he felt he’d get regular game time elsewhere.
“Seeing him play recently, he’s looking fit and fresh and strong. We know his obvious talents so it’s great to see. If he can keep that up hopefully through the season, and get back to exactly where he was and more, then I’ll be very happy and he’ll come back as our player for sure.”
Loftus-Cheek has started six of an improving Fulham’s last seven Premier League games. They are still in the relegation zone but are unbeaten since 5 December and have taken points off Liverpool, Southampton and Tottenham in that time.
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Source : 90min