Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Image from: freelargeimages.com

Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek





Current Club: Chelsea.

Previous Clubs: N/A.

Loan Clubs: Crystal Palace.





International: England 10 caps.

Trophies Won: Premier League 2014/15, 2016/17. Europa League 2018/19.





Loftus-Cheek has a reputation for laziness, which is always the biggest criticism I read of him on our sites. However, having watched him over and over for this profile, I am not so sure it is fully deserved. A lot of the perceived laziness is due to his languid style, the way he moves is relaxed, he just flows across the ground and looks to be making little effort.



That is just perception, when you just sit and watch him, his running style looks effortless and like he is just trundling along, but he has a long, loping style that eats up the ground without looking like he is doing much. He is what you call deceptively quick.



Loftus-Cheek is tall, but he is not one of those lanky tall players that looks awkward, he is almost elegant in his movement, strong and skilful, someone with the close control and brute strength to hold onto the ball in tight areas. Like Barcelona players in their prime a few years ago, he is someone who is adept at receiving the ball while under pressure and keeping hold of it before playing it off again.



To aid him in that, he has a very good first touch and seldom lets the ball get away from him and has quick feet to keep the ball away from trouble. He is also a very clean striker of the ball, which should lead to him scoring a lot more goals in the future, as he is very capable of hitting the target consistently.



While he does show very good movement off the ball when making forward runs or moving into space, defensively Loftus-Cheek is very reactionary. He does tend to be caught flat-footed, not thinking about defending and then having to move after the opponent's attack has begun, leaving him trailing behind most of the time.



A lack of aggression in the press is also an issue, that lack of thought when it comes to defensive situations leaves him often too far from the man on the ball to press him effectively. Added to his slow reaction time in defensive actions, Loftus-Cheek is often caught out and easily bypassed in the middle third. Something he really does need to work on.



Looking at footage of him last season, he showed an ability to pick a clever, forceful pass, but almost always chose the simple option, even when it was not the best option. Only time will tell if that was because of Maurizio Sarri's instructions and tactics or if it is the way he plays the game.





Requested by - Eric79