The England U21 international insists that he takes criticism from Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho in a positive way, and trusts the Portuguese fully to do what is right for him and the team
With the Chelsea FC midfield struggling for form, academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to be given a run of games in the Blues’ first-team, starting with the fixture against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The teenager, who scored his first goal for the England U21s on Tuesday, has joined his senior teammates in praising manager Jos Mourinho, insisting that he trusts the 52-year-old fully to do what is best for him.
Loftus-Cheek has faith in Mourinho
The 19-year-old spoke to the Daily Telegraph ahead of what is widely expected to be his first league start of the new campaign. “Anyone wants to play, but I realise Ia m at a top club and opportunities dona t come around often,” Loftus-Cheek said. “So I have to be patient and I have full trust in the manager to do whatever is right for me and the team.
“I will just go along with Jose. If I play, I play. If I dona t, I dona t.”
The youngster also insisted that he will continue to do his best to help out the team defensively, despite enjoying the attacking side of the game more. “I enjoy going forwards more than defending, but defending is a big part of the game so Ia m going to do it whether I enjoy it or not .
“Whether Ia m playing in deeper role or a number 10 role, I will do it to the best of my ability.a
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Aston Villa will be the first real test for the young Englishman
Although Loftus-Cheek did start playing in Premier League games last season, Chelsea FC had already wrapped up the league title by that point. The Englishman started against Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion at the back end of last season, and has started this season against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Champions League and Walsall in the Capital One Cup.
The game against Aston Villa this Saturday is arguably Loftus-Cheek’s biggest test till date. Mourinho’s men desperately need the three points, and Villa are a considerably better side than Maccabi or Walsall. The Blues will not be playing with the same freedom as they did after wrapping up the title last season either.
Impressing this weekend, then, will go a long way towards making Loftus-Cheek a more regular option for Chelsea FC in all competitions.