Ruben Loftus-Cheek
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek | |
| |
| Full Name | Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek |
| Date of Birth | 23rd January 1996 |
| Place of Birth | London, England |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Chelsea career | 2003 - |
| Debut | 10 December 2014 |
| Games (goals) | 29 (2) |
| Other clubs | Crystal Palace (loan) |
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (born 23rd January 1996 in London, England) is a midfielder currently playing for Chelsea. He made his debut for the first team in December 2014.
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Pre-Chelsea career
Ruben joined Chelsea's academy at Under-8 and has been with the club his entire career.
Chelsea career
Ruben made his Under-18 debut at the back end of the 2010-11 season after struggling with injury for much of the campaign, and started the 2011-12 season as a regular in Adrian Viveash's team. He scored his first goal for the youth team away to Newcastle United in August 2011 and went on to grab nearly half a dozen in the first half of the campaign. However, he would miss much of the second half of the season with a hip injury and was only fit to return to action in the Second Leg of the 2011-12 FA Youth Cup Final against Blackburn Rovers.
He began the 2012-13 season by mixing between Under-21 and Under-18 football, whilst becoming a fixture in the team for the NextGen Series, where he would end up a losing finalist. He also became a lynchpin of yet another FA Youth Cup team, pairing successfully with Lewis Baker in central midfield as the Blues once again went all the way to the final, only this time to lose.
At the end of what was undoubtedly a productive season, Ruben was named in a first team touring party for two friendlies against Manchester City in the United States. He was given a start in both games, wearing the number 33 short, and impressed greatly on both occasions. Despite interest from Championship clubs with regards a loan move ahead of 2013-14, Ruben stayed at Chelsea and split time between the Under-21 and Under-18 ranks in the run up to Christmas.
He was named captain for the successful 2013-14 FA Youth Cup campaign and overcame the disappointment of the previous season to get his hands on the trophy. The following week he played his part as the Under-21s won their own national title. After a hugely impressive start to the 2014-15 season he was rewarded with his first team debut in December 2014 as he came off the bench in the home Champions League fixture against Sporting CP.
As the season went on, talk and media attention surrounding him led to Jose Mourinho confirming his intentions to integrate him into the first team squad for the 2014-15 season and, with the title clinched before the end of the 2014-15 campaign, Ruben was handed Premier League starts against Liverpool and West Brom, having made a league debut in the closing moments against Manchester City back in February.
Those opportunities failed to yield a significant breakthrough under Mourinho or his successor Antonio Conte, leaving him to depart on loan in 2017-18, joining Crystal Palace. It yielded a full senior England debut within three months and, despite a three-month injury layoff, he was named in Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the end of the campaign.
International
Ruben was called up twice by England at Under-16 level during 2010-11 but had to withdraw injured on both occasions. Upon his selection in October 2011, he was named captain and played in the Victory Shield opener against Northern Ireland before scoring in the next match at home to Wales, underlining his credentials as one of the best prospects in the squad.
He made the step up to the Under-17 ranks in the 2012-13 season and scored his first goal at that level during the European Championship Qualifiers against Northern Ireland before later graduating to feature regularly at Under-19 level. In May 2015 he was included in the squad for the Under-21 European Championships, scoring seven goals at that level before making his full debut at senior level against Germany in November 2017, earning the Man of the Match award in the process.
Career statistics
Youth, Reserve and Under-21 Football
| Season | Under-18 | Euro U19 | Under-21 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2010-11 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | 14 | 5 | - | - | 4 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| 2012-13 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| 2013-14 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 39 | 1 |
| 2014-15 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 1 |
| 2015-16 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 46 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 116 | 10 |
(Statistics accurate as of the end of the 2015-16 season)
First team
| Season | Club | Prem | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2014-15 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | Chelsea | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| 2016-17 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | Crystal Palace (loan) | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Total | 43 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 4 | |
Correct as of 29 May 2018
Chelsea Goals
| # | Season | Date | Year | Competition | Opponent | Score | Result | Venue |
| 1 | 2015-16 | 10 January | 2016 | FA Cup | Scunthorpe United | 2-0 | 2-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 2 | 2015-16 | 02 April | 2016 | Premier League | Aston Villa | 1-0 | 4-0 | Villa Park |
Career honours
- 2011 Sky Sports Victory Shield (England Under-16s)
- 2011-12 FA Youth Cup
- 2013-14 FA Youth Cup
- 2013-14 Under-21 Premier League
- 2014-15 UEFA Youth League
Contract
Ruben signed a new deal in July 2019 to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season.
