The Lewisham Ballack is finally threatening to return back to his best for Chelsea after years of injury kept him from fulfilling his ridiculous potential
Football is a cruel sport that moves on quickly from past glory days, just ask Arsenal. After having threatened to move on from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the player opted for a decidedly non-North London response and rose from the ashes.
In 2019, Loftus-Cheek was finally reaching something of the heights that Chelsea fans had imagined for him when he “burst onto the scene” (best read in Micah Richards’ voice) in Chelsea’s title-winning season in 2014-2015. At the time, few understood where to play him despite his figuring for Chelsea’s famed youth side in a central attacking role. But that wasn’t necessarily important — the fact that a six foot three nineteen-year-old was already so developed in a physical sense and knew how to use his frame to his advantage was enough to elate both Jose Mourinho and Blues supporters alike, while sending shivers down the spines of the opposition. With mercifully short-lived striker experiments led by Antonio Conte that saw Loftus-Cheek struggled to play with his back to goal concluded, Loftus-Cheek found life under another Italian more fruitful.
Having journeyed to Russia for the 2018 World Cup with Gareth Southgate’s English side, Loftus-Cheek returned to Cobham later than some of his peers with the tall order of impressing Maurizio Sarri, the cigarette-puffing former banker-turned football manager who had departed the sunny climes and organized crime of Napoli for the decidedly more overcast forecasts of West London. Sarri came with his dogmatic zeal for his favoured 4-3-3 formation in tow, and the notion that players had to fit into his particular puzzle to feature regularly. With the exception of Eden Hazard who still played his normal roaming role that was the furthest thing from the hugging the touchline and one-touch passes that Sarri demanded, no one was exempt from the strict Italian’s demands. As a result, Loftus-Cheek initially struggled to figure regularly; while his talent on the ball was always famed, his tactical nous and willingness to slot into a particular role was never particularly reputed. After some languid displays in which his off-the-ball work and inability to keep the shape on defence was questioned, Loftus-Cheek spent some time in the shadows. Not one to sulk, he grafted in training and did what Sarri asked of him and saw his minutes skyrocket, along with his influence. Normally playing on the left of a midfield three, Loftus-Cheek grew incredibly adept at picking up the ball from deep in his own half and driving with it, causing defenders no small amount of anguish with his ability to pick a pass or finish in either corner.
This purple patch of form was derailed for a match that was both meaningful and meaningless, played a week prior to their Europa League Final match against Arsenal. Roman Abramovich, the club’s owner, had arranged for a charity match to be played in Foxborough, Massachusetts with Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots. The Chelsea first team were to play the New England revolution in which the proceeds would go towards combatting anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, the state of the pitch was dire, and Loftus-Cheek went down midway through the match as if he had been shot. The diagnosis: a ruptured Achilles tendon. With surgery and lengthy rehab required, Loftus-Cheek was not just out of the major European foul on the horizon, but also out of contention for most of the next season.
The Lewisham native went out on loan to Fulham for the 2020-2021 season, where he languished in a Scott Parker side that lacked any real identity. The former fixture of a marauding Sarri-side now struggled for minutes and often failed to make an impact when given the opportunity.
When Thomas Tuchel came in to replace Frank Lampard in February 2021, there was immediately talk of what might happen with Loftus-Cheek’s development. The wiry German was known for making full use of his squad and giving opportunities to everyone on merit – the question became if Loftus-Cheek would even get the chance to impress given his famous injury history. Despite a rocky end to the regular season that saw Fulham get relegated, Loftus-Cheek importantly managed to stay fit and off the treatment table. He would no doubt have been inspired by seeing his Cobham academy compatriots lift the UEFA Champions League trophy in Porto and came into preseason training early in a bid to impress Tuchel.
On his part, Tuchel was more than inclined to give the strapping midfield man a chance. Reports have indicated that Tuchel pulled Loftus-Cheek aside to specifically lavish him with praise, saying, “You are special. I cannot believe you haven’t played more for Chelsea.”
Following a start to the season that didn’t see him even making the bench, Loftus-Cheek has bullied his way into the side and made both Tuchel and Chelsea fans believe again. He was recently handed three consecutive league starts where he glimmered like the diamond of a player he is. After struggling to recapture the confidence in his body to endure the twists, turns, and tackles that Premier League play comes with, Loftus-Cheek looks back to his best. Playing a deeper role than before, he is getting more touches on the ball, dropping the shoulder and carrying the ball with confidence, and leaving defenders in the dust with silky turns that a player of his size shouldn’t be able to execute with such grace.
Although he only figured in the latter stages of Chelsea’s 7-0 decimation of Norwich, the Lewisham Ballack (as he is known to the Stamford Bridge faithful), will no doubt be chomping at the bit to properly cement his place in the side again and will be emboldened by Tuchel’s faith in him. The sky’s the limit with regular game time and the league would do well to take notice of his threat.