Gareth Southgate has named his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer as England embark on a journey to right their wrongs in previous major tournaments. By the looks of things, Southgate has been pretty brave with his selection, omitting star names such as Wilshere, Joe Hart and Chris Smalling – players who were a certainty to make the 11 at the beginning of the season are now heading for an extended break this summer rather than making their mark on the World’s biggest international stage.
With noticeable omissions, Southgate otherwise sprung surprises and well-deserved call ups for Trent Alexander Arnold, Nick Pope and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. While the former two have impressed for their various clubs this season, it is the latter that has caught the eye going into the summers tournament.
Players such as Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey – both heavily tipped to make the plane to Russia – were omitted from Southgate’s squad leaving many to question where all the creativity and spark will come from in midfield as England kick off their World Cup campaign against Tunisia on June 18. Both players hold the ability to unlock defenses with their passing and vision; attributes which could be argued is England’s main problem from midfield – not being able to unlock or dissect a packed defence. Wilshere and Shelvey’s abilities will probably be missed this summer. However, in Ruben Loftus-Cheek, England could have the solution to their creative problems in midfield.
The Crystal Palace player on loan from Chelsea has enjoyed a fruitful season at Selhurst Park under manager Roy Hodgson. Deployed on the left of a four man midfield – albeit an unfamiliar position for him – the young England international was tasked with helping out both in defence as well as attack which he performed with great aplomb. Although his goal return for Palace may not attract the attention of some fans – 2 goals in 25 appearances – his role in the midfield was more than just scoring goals.
Loftus-Cheek’s ability to control the game, drive from midfield and beat his opponent was a vital tool used by Hodgson throughout the season as Palace successfully avoided relegation finishing 11th in the Premier League table. He was a key man for Palace which is shown in his return from injury which coincided with Palace’s significant six-game unbeaten run. His fine link-up play with Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha was key to much of Crystal Palace’s play, cutting in from the left-wing and dictating play and becoming involved in orchestrating various Palace attacks, his movement in turn allowed team-mate and left-back Patrick Van-Aanholt to bomb up the pitch which added another dimension to Palace’s attacking arsenal.
The role he played throughout Palace’s success this season is something Southgate felt he needed for this tournament hence his inclusion, and it may just be the platform Loftus-Cheek needs to ignite his career. Frozen out at Chelsea on numerous occasions will not have helped his development and glittering abilities. The departure of Nemanja Matic to rivals Manchester United last summer – a key man in Chelsea’s midfield the previous season – was the opportunity for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to make his presence known to Antonio Conte but instead the Chelsea coach invested heavily in Danny Drinkwater from Leicester and Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco – two signings who have failed to the mark their territory in the Chelsea team.
Chelsea’s transfer failures led many to question why the club did not have the faith in young fledgling talents such as Loftus-Cheek and Nathanial Chalobah who was sold to Watford, players who could have offered so much under Conte’s tutelage. Rather, it was much of the same story for Chelsea as they failed to place their trust in players coming through the academy ranks. That has not stopped Ruben Loftus-Cheek though, his move to Palace has proved a stroke of genius on his part and as a result he has been rewarded with a spot on England’s plane to Russia at the World Cup – his first major international tournament – and a chance to flaunt his talents on the world stage.
Former England assistant coach who is now assistant at Crystal Palace, Ray Lewington expressed his views on Loftus-Cheek and states why he holds him in such high regard, speaking to talkSPORT, he says:
“I love him – I think he’s such a wonderful player. He’s a superstar in the making.”
“He possesses skills that I haven’t seen in too many English players. He’s wonderfully good in tight areas, he gets out, his acceleration is incredible”.
Lewington’s analysis is indeed interesting, not for a long time have we seen an England midfielder so physically built like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, so physically imposing on his opponents and having the ability to beat his man one-on-one, a trait we rarely associate with English footballers especially in the midfield areas. A perfect example was his international debuts against World champions Germany and Brazil – a brief reminder to many that Loftus-Cheek has what it takes against the elite. The bravery and trickery to approach matches of such magnitude would have really impressed Southgate and England fans alike.
Loftus Cheek’s technical attributes and his incredible knack of getting out of tight spots with that one piece of skill is a trait we cannot help admiring from Loftus-Cheek. The pace and acceleration he holds once he’s beaten his man is another characteristic which is mightily impressive considering his tall frame. A player of Loftus-Cheek’s talents just cannot go unnoticed. It would be criminal.
In Gareth Southgate, Loftus-Cheek has a coach who knows his abilities inside out having coached him at Under-21 level also, not only that but the faith and belief he has in players still developing and considered too young to make the step up will stand Loftus-Cheek in good stead even if he doesn’t get much opportunities in the tournament this summer. Never before have former coaches of England had as much belief in youth as Southgate has. Players such as Loftus-Cheek, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope can only look forward to the future if Southgate is in charge of England in the long haul.
In order to truly unmask his fledgling potential, Loftus-Cheek will need work on his final third attacking play and the ability to score goals from midfield. He has not shown great promise in that department as yet and is something he can really develop if he wants to be considered a great player or even break into the Chelsea like he has the ability to. If he can work on and change that over the course of the summer he may just find himself on the minds of those in charge at Chelsea – whether it will still be Antonio Conte at the helm remains to be seen. He played well coming on in the friendly against Nigeria at Wembley last week and should be starting against Costa Rica on Thursday, probably getting a 90 minute run-out. Perform well in that game, and Southgate will have headaches figuring out who best to choose from for his first 11 when England open up against Tunisia on June 18.
Nonetheless, there is no doubting Loftus-Cheek’s abilities and potential but the World Cup this summer could be the platform he needs to make his mark on the world stage.
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