‘I felt it was paramount I played a lot of football this season’: Ruben Loftus-Cheek reveals he approached Frank Lampard about making loan move to Fulham but insists he still sees his future at Chelsea
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek fell down the pecking order at Chelsea following his injury
- An Achilles problem kept him out for 13 months and has restricted his game time
- The midfielder did start the win at Brighton but felt he needed regular minutes
- He therefore initiated talks with Frank Lampard before joining Fulham on loan
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed he initiated talks with Frank Lampard about leaving Chelsea on loan for west London rivals Fulham.
The midfielder had fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge after suffering an Achilles injury in April last year that kept him out for 13 months, leading him to join Scott Parker’s men in the summer.
The England international played just more than an hour for the Blues in their win at Brighton in their opening game of the new Premier League season, but with rising competition after the club spent £220million in the summer, he sought a move away to regain his confidence.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed he initiated talks with Frank Lampard about leaving on loan
Loftus-Cheek joined Fulham in the summer after falling down the pecking order at Chelsea
‘We had an honest conversation. I was the one who initiated it,’ Loftus-Cheek told The Sun.
‘I felt like it was paramount that I played a lot of football this season.
‘With the strength in depth at Chelsea and how I was feeling, I was not sure being out for so long that when I had the opportunity that I could play fantastically and hold down a place in the starting XI.
‘I was not 100 per cent I could do that, because I need to build my confidence back up.
He did play in Chelsea’s win at Brighton before being replaced by Ross Barkley after an hour
But he insisted on going on loan to Fulham to regain his confidence with regular minutes
‘That was basically the theme of the chat. The gaffer agreed on that and things went on from there.’
Loftus-Cheek was restricted to nine games for Chelsea in the 2019-20 season following his return from his serious injury, of which only two were starts, having recorded 10 goals and five assists from 40 appearances the season before.
The 24-year-old also signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea in July 2019, committing himself to the club until 2024.
The England international however believes that his future remains at Stamford Bridge
And the midfielder insisted he has no intentions of breaking that agreement permanently anytime soon, adding: ‘I still see my future at Chelsea.
‘I believe in my ability 100 per cent. This is obviously not a permanent move [to Fulham].
‘This is a platform for me to go and express myself and find that form that was showing a couple of seasons ago.
‘I believe in my ability, and we will see where that takes me.’
