Chelsea loanee can make big impact upon return to Stamford Bridge insists former Blue

Chelsea loanee can make big impact upon return to Stamford Bridge insists former Blue

Former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino says he believes Ruben Loftus-Cheek has a big future at Stamford Bridge and insists he is already better than Tiemoue Bakayoko.

The England international, who has spent the 2017/18 campaign on-loan at Crystal Palace, impressed during the Eagle’s 5-0 win over Leicester City at the weekend, scoring his side’s third goal.

After an impressive season at Selhurst Park, Loftus-Cheek is widely expected to return to his home club over the summer, and Tony Cascarino believes he could be pushing for a place in the starting XI next term – especially given the poor form of Chelsea’s Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Cascarino told TakSport: “He’s Michael Ballack of the midfield.

“He can be an attacker, he shields the ball brilliantly, and for Wilf [Zaha’s] goal… his tight control in possession – he does it brilliantly.

“You cannot ignore him. He won’t be the Mo Salah, the Kevin De Bruyne that’s let go by Chelsea.

“If any club thinks they are going to snatch him away from Chelsea on the cheap, that is not going to happen to Loftus-Cheek for me. I think he’ll be a Chelsea player next year.

“He could be in the Chelsea team now instead of Tiemoue Bakayoko — he is as good as the Frenchman signed for £40 million — and I think he would be a good midfield partner for N’Golo Kante.”