Ruben Loftus-Cheek

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Ruben Loftus-Cheek 2018-06-13 1.jpg
Loftus-Cheek training with England at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth Lewisham, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 12
Youth career
2004–2014 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Chelsea 54 (7)
2017–2018 → Crystal Palace (loan) 24 (2)
2020–2021 → Fulham (loan) 30 (1)
National team‡
2011 England U16 2 (1)
2012–2013 England U17 8 (1)
2013–2015 England U19 13 (6)
2015–2017 England U21 17 (7)
2017– England 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:00, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek (born 23 January 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, and the England national team.

Early life[]

Loftus-Cheek was born in Lewisham, Greater London.[4] He grew up and attended school in Swanley, Kent.[5] Loftus-Cheek is of Guyanese descent.[6] He is the half-brother, on his father's side,[7] of former professional footballers Carl and Leon Cort.[8] His younger brother, Joe, is a semi-professional footballer.[9]

Club career[]

Chelsea[]

Loftus-Cheek joined Chelsea at the age of eight. He impressed at the beginning of the 2011–12 season before picking up a hip injury, from which he recovered by the end of the season[citation needed] to make a substitute appearance in the 2012 FA Youth Cup final.[10] In the 2012–13 season, Loftus-Cheek made 18 appearances for the U-18 squad and nine appearances for the U-21 squad, at the end of the season he was rewarded for his good form to travel with a place in the first-team squad for a post season friendly against Manchester City in May 2013.[11] In 2013–14, Loftus-Cheek helped Chelsea win the FA Youth Cup[12] and was a regular for the U21s as they won the Under-21 Premier League.[citation needed]

2014–15 season[]

Loftus-Cheek playing for Chelsea in 2014

Loftus-Cheek made his senior debut for the club on 10 December 2014, replacing Cesc Fàbregas for the final 7 minutes of a UEFA Champions League group match against Sporting CP at Stamford Bridge; Chelsea won 3–1 having already come first in the group.[13] He played his first Premier League match on 31 January 2015, coming on for Oscar in added time at the end of a 1–1 home draw against Manchester City.[14]

On 3 February, Loftus-Cheek was promoted into José Mourinho's first team squad alongside fellow teenager Izzy Brown.[15]

On 13 April, Loftus-Cheek played for Chelsea in the final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Shakhtar Donetsk in Switzerland, which ended with a 3–2 victory for Chelsea.[16] On 10 May 2015, Loftus-Cheek was awarded his first start against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge,[17] playing 60 minutes and recording a 100% pass completion record, before being replaced by Nemanja Matić, in a match that ended in a 1–1 draw.[8][18] Although Loftus-Cheek only made three league appearances out of the whole season, Mourinho stated that he would receive a winner's medal for his contributions this season.[19]

2015–16 season[]

On 29 August 2015, Loftus-Cheek made his first appearance coming off the bench against Crystal Palace as Chelsea suffered their first home defeat of the season.[20] On 10 January 2016, Loftus-Cheek came on as a half-time substitute for Oscar in an FA Cup match against Scunthorpe United, and scored his first senior goal of his career in the 68th minute of the match, which Chelsea won 2–0.[21] Excluding John Terry, he became the first player to have been at Chelsea since before the age of 15 and score for them since Carlton Cole 10 years and 3 days earlier.[22]

On 29 February 2016, Loftus-Cheek signed a new five-year deal after impressing when given the chance in the first team.[23] He scored his first league goal on 2 April, scoring the opener in a 4–0 win against Aston Villa away.[24] After scoring his first league goal, Loftus-Cheek continued to be in the starting line-up in the following two matches against Swansea City and Manchester City.[25]

2016–17 season[]

Loftus-Cheek playing for Chelsea in 2015

Under new manager, Antonio Conte, Loftus-Cheek was deployed as a striker, playing alongside Diego Costa during preseason.[26] After the loan departure of Bertrand Traoré, Loftus-Cheek was handed the number 14 shirt prior to the season's beginning, switching from his previous number 36.[27]

On 23 August 2016, Loftus-Cheek made his first appearance of the season, starting against Bristol Rovers in the Second round of the EFL Cup. He started the build-up of the first goal, as well as providing the assist to the third goal scored by Michy Batshuayi, which turned out to be the winner of a 3–2 victory.[28] He received a standing ovation as he was coming-off for Oscar in the 82nd minute, and was also praised by Conte after the match.[29]

2017–18 season: Loan to Crystal Palace[]

On 12 July 2017, Loftus-Cheek joined fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace on a season-long loan.[30] He made his debut on the opening day of the season during their 3–0 home defeat against Huddersfield Town, playing for the full 90 minutes.[31] On 25 November 2017, Loftus-Cheek scored his first goal for the London side in a 2–1 victory over Stoke City.[32] Following some impressive form, Loftus-Cheek was rewarded with a senior call-up by manager Gareth Southgate to the England squad for their fixtures against Germany and Brazil in November 2017.[33]

2018–19 season: Return from loan[]

For the 2018–19 season, Loftus-Cheek was included in the Chelsea first team and assigned the number 12 shirt. On 25 October 2018, he scored a hat-trick in a Europa League home match against BATE Borisov, which ended in a 3–1 win for Chelsea.[34] Three days later, he scored his first league goal of the season away to Burnley.[35] He scored in back-to-back league games in December, against Fulham in a 2–0 home win[36] and Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2–1 away loss.[37] On 5 May, Loftus-Cheek scored the opener against Watford in a 3–0 home win that eventually secured Champions League football for the following season.[38] In the next match, the second leg of the Europa League semi-final at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, he scored in a 1–1 draw, with Chelsea prevailing 4–3 on penalties.[39] He was ruled out of the final, however, after he suffered an achilles injury during a charity match against New England Revolution.[40]

2019–20 season[]

On 6 July 2019, Loftus-Cheek agreed a new five-year contract with Chelsea, running until 2024.[41][42] His injury at the end of the previous season ruled him out of action until June 2020, when the Premier League resumed after the coronavirus lockdown. He made his competitive return to action, starting Chelsea's first match back against Aston Villa, on 21 June.[43][44]

2020–21 season: Loan to Fulham[]

On 5 October 2020, Loftus-Cheek was loaned to Fulham for the remainder of the season.[45] He made his club debut on 18 October 2020, in a 1–1 away draw against Sheffield United after he came off from the bench.[46] On 22 November, Loftus-Cheek scored his first Premier League goal for the club in a 2–3 home defeat against Everton.[47]

International career[]

He received his first call-up to the England senior squad in November 2017.[33] Following his first senior call-up, Loftus-Cheek went onto make his England debut during their friendly fixture against Germany, in which he featured for the full 90 minutes, winning man of the match after an impressive performance in the 0–0 draw.[48]

On 16 May 2018, Loftus-Cheek was included in Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[49] He came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Dele Alli in England's opening match, a 2–1 win over Tunisia on 18 June 2018.[50]

Style of play[]

After his first-team debut, Barney Ronay of The Guardian described Loftus-Cheek as an "intriguing" player of "long-striding grace" saying that with his "shielding, covering, deep-playmaking presence with a calmness in possession and a naturally telescopic reach" he would be a good fit for the senior England national team.[51] Loftus-Cheek was compared to Germany great Michael Ballack by former Chelsea and England manager Glenn Hoddle, who said that: "He reminds me of Ballack – physically and the way he plays", and went on to say: "He gets in the box and he moves well off the ball."[52] Following his first Premier League start of the 2015–16 season, Loftus-Cheek's Chelsea manager, José Mourinho, commented "He [Loftus-Cheek] is brilliant with the ball. He doesn't look 19 – he looks solid, stable and mature. But without the ball he doesn't look as good tactically." Liam Twomey of FourFourTwo described Loftus-Cheek as "an imposing box-to-box midfielder who combines a muscular 6ft 3in frame that enables him to dominate physically with startlingly polished technique and composure," also noting that "[h]e rarely makes a bad decision on the ball," and labelling him a "rare blend of natural physique and refined skill," whom he likened to Paul Pogba.[53]

Throughout his career, Loftus-Cheek has been playing either as a central or attacking midfielder, but former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte stated that he sees Loftus-Cheek with the potential of a striker since he has "good technique, good personality and he is good one vs one."[26]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 14 September 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea 2014–15[54] Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 — 4 0
2015–16[25] Premier League 13 1 2 1 1 0 1[a] 0 0 0 17 2
2016–17[55] Premier League 6 0 3 0 2 0 — — 11 0
2018–19[56] Premier League 24 6 2 0 3 0 11[b] 4 0 0 40 10
2019–20[57] Premier League 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 9 0
2020–21[58] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2021–22[59] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 0 0 1 0
Total 54 7 9 1 6 0 14 4 0 0 83 12
Crystal Palace (loan) 2017–18[60] Premier League 24 2 0 0 1 0 — — 25 2
Fulham (loan) 2020–21[58] Premier League 30 1 2 0 0 0 — — 32 1
Career total 108 10 11 1 7 0 14 4 0 0 140 15
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International[]

As of match played 15 November 2018[61]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 2017 2 0
2018 8 0
Total 10 0

Honours[]

Chelsea Youth

Chelsea

England U21

Individual

  • Toulon Tournament Player of the Tournament: 2016[67]

References[]

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  2. ^ "Ruben Loftus-Cheek". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. ^ "R. Loftus-Cheek: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  4. ^ Fifield, Dominic (30 January 2018). "Loftus-Cheek returns to Chelsea for injury treatment amid World Cup fears". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Loftus-Cheek named in first England squad". Kent on Sunday. No. 789. 4 November 2017. p. 48 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2018: The children of immigrants who want to bring World Cup glory to England". Marca. Madrid.
  7. ^ Hayes, Garry. "Ruben Loftus-Cheek Talks International Champions Cup, Chelsea Hopes and More".
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Higginson, Marc (10 May 2015). "Chelsea 1–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Preview: Eversley & California, Joe Loftus-Cheek and all the step 6 openers". Football in Bracknell. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
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  63. ^ Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
    "2018/19 EUROPA LEAGUE WINNERS!!!