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Gilabola.com – Thomas Tuchel has been impressed by the performance of the outcast who he now calls ‘Michael Ballack’ and is ready to return him to the Chelsea first-team squad next season.
The Chelsea academy dropout has twice been loaned to other clubs, although his performances were quite good when he was fit and trusted to enter the field. However, it looks like Tuchel will empower the player after he has been captivating in pre-season this time.
The player, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, plans to return to the Blues main squad next season, after he managed to convince Tuchel that he can be relied on on the pitch. Thus expressed Football London, as reported Chelsea Chronicle.
On the official Chelsea website, Thomas Tuchel said he wanted to give loan players and academy players the opportunity to prove their abilities in pre-season training. As a result, several weeks managed to get their chances, including Loftus-Cheek.
The 25-year-old midfielder had been on loan at Fulham who had just returned to the Championship division last season. However, basically, Loftus-Cheek always shows a slick game on the field.
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Besides that, Billy Gilmour loaned to Norwich City also helped pave the way for Loftus-Cheek’s return to the Blues’ main squad next season.
Similar to Mason Mount, Loftus-Cheek can provide quality options in a more flexible attacking midfield position for Thomas Tuchel.
Well, even before Loftus-Cheek returned from the loan club, the German coach seemed to have been eyeing this attacking midfielder.
Tuchel’s Michael Ballack?
“I secretly loved his game, even when he was young. His style of play and movement is a bit reminiscent of Michael Ballack,” said the former PSG coach regarding Loftus-Cheek.
Like Ballack, Loftus-Cheek is physically fit, where he is the tallest midfielder in the Chelsea squad – and this has not been the case for Thomas Tuchel’s squad in recent seasons.
However, Loftus-Cheek is not the only player who has caught the attention of the 47-year-old coach. The reason is, there is a young right-back Dujon Sterling and a young striker, Armando Broja, who also impressed Tuchel in this pre-season training.
Previous reports suggested Tuchel was looking to strengthen his options at right-back and striker this summer. The two positions have indeed become a topic of discussion with many transfer targets who want to be brought in to these positions.
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