Following his fantastic showing in the FA Cup Semi-Final against Crystal Palace, which saw him score a sublime volley. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been linked with a host of clubs including Palace themselves, West Ham and of course Everton. The rumour was first reported by Daily Mail’s Adrian Kajumba and has been picked up by the Transfer Tavern who claim that both Everton’s new sporting director Kevin Thelwell and Frank Lampard want to bring the player to Goodison Park for next season.
Reports suggest that Ruben himself might not be too keen, having seen himself become much more of a feature within Chelsea’s first team during the latter part of this season, even gaining a start in the Champions League Semi-Final. He apparently is hoping to push on now that he has gained the managers trust and become a regular. But he has still only played 960 league minutes for Chelsea this season and Everton would certainly be able to promise an improvement on that. Van de Beek is unlikely to remain at the club next term, making it very necessary for the Toffee’s to target midfield creativity. Whilst Iwobi has shown that he is capable in recent weeks, his numbers aren’t outstanding and we could do with much more depth, particularly if the current rate of injuries carries into next season.
One potential factor that might help Everton’s case is the returning loanee Conor Gallagher, whose fantastic club form has led him to an England call up. Gallagher is a slightly different player to Loftus-Cheek as he does a lot more defensive work but if Tuchel is looking to bring him into the Chelsea midfield next season it could spell even less minutes for Ruben who is in need of regular game time at this stage of his career.
Toffee Blues’ rumour rating: 3/5
It would be surprising if their wasn’t genuine interest in the player for this summers recruitment strategy. His current contract is up in 2024 so Chelsea have one last chance to make money on him unless they choose to hand him a new deal. He would not command too high of a fee and fills the homegrown quota. However, there will be many suitors if he is on the market and Everton might not be in the best position to convince him that Goodison Park is where he should be playing his football. Nevertheless he would be an excellent addition to a midfield that lacks all the qualities he possesses.
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