Chelsea will be prepared to let go of English international Ruben Loftus-Cheek amid interest from Arsenal over a shock cross London move, claims Ray Parlour
As reported by Daily Star, Arsenal legend Ray Parlous has reckoned that Chelsea have made peace with the idea of letting Ruben Loftus-Cheek depart from Stamford Bridge, if he wants to call time on his stint with the Blues. The Gunners are interested in signing the English international.
Loftus-Cheek made his first-team debut for Chelsea in the summer of 2014, amid a lot of excitement and hype surrounding his talent. But, the 22-year-old is one of many to have fallen prey to the Blues’ infamous loaning system, although he decided to remain at Stamford Bridge to fight for his place this season.
So far, however, he is yet to nail down a regular place under Maurizio Sarri, although with four goals in seven appearances across all competitions, this is his productive season to date with Chelsea. Loftus-Cheek though, is dissatisfied with his position at the Bridge, and could be open to leaving the club, which has piqued the interest of Arsenal.
The Gunners did bolster their midfield by adding Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira to Unai Emery’s squad in the summer. And while the duo have integrated seamlessly into the Arsenal manager’s system, the fact that Aaron Ramsey is set to call it quits at the Emirates has propped up the need to sign another midfielder.
Loftus-Cheek, with his ability to consistently make a telling impact in the final third, could be an ideal replacement for Ramsey in the Arsenal midfield. Additionally, the Chelsea midfielder’s experience in the Premier League makes him an attractive target for the North Londoners.
Under usual circumstances, Chelsea wouldn’t be willing to sell a player to direct rivals, which would effectively rule Arsenal out of the running for such a move. But, Ray Parlour has opined that the Blues will not stand in Loftus-Cheek’s way, if he so wishes to leave the club.
“There’s a certain time in your career when you’ve got to play on a regular basis. They’ve now got to decide when that’s going to be. Whether their representatives do that or whether the manager will or whether they will themselves. I’m sure the club won’t stand in their way if they say: ‘Look, we need to go and play’.”
If Chelsea indeed adopt a similar stance over the availability of Loftus-Cheek, Arsenal would fancy their chances of securing his services. For now though, the 22-year-old has maintained that he wants to stay put at Stamford Bridge, although that stand could change if he does not receive regular game time in the weeks and months to come.
