Ruben Loftus-Cheek's agent Jonathan Barnett has denied that there has been any direct contact yet between Lazio and Chelsea about the midfielder, but hasn't ruled out the possibilities of a deal happening amid the Blues' rumoured interest in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
While rumours continue to surge on Romelu Lukaku and Raheem Sterling, and defensive reinforcements remain a priority, the midfield situation at Chelsea has been on the back burner. Both Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek are said to be weighing up their futures ahead of potential Serie A moves. This is because former Blues manager Maurizio Sarri is reportedly highly keen on signing a player who flourished under his management during their days together in West London. Additionally, Sarri is also hopeful of landing Emerson Palmieri and could even sacrifice Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the process.
Milinkovic-Savic is a player who the Blues reportedly hold an interest in if a midfielder was to depart their ranks this summer, so talk of a swap deal and even a Lazio negotiator being in London to sound out the possibilities of these deals can come as no surprise. However, those reports may be premature with Loftus-Cheek's agent Barnett admitting that not contact has been made between the clubs as of yet - but he didn't rule anything out.
READ MORE: Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has impressed former Chelsea managers amid transfer links
"Lazio have not spoken to Chelsea as far as I’m aware, but Maurizio Sarri is a fan of Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] and he likes Serie A. Let’s see what happens," he told Italian outlet II Messaggero. While it's unclear how manager Tuchel would view a potential departure for his number 12 this summer, the German has already advised the Englishmen how to get the best out of his talents amid an up and down career which has been thwarted with multiple injury setbacks.
"He needs to push himself to the limit; he needs to be physical," Tuchel said in the latter stages of 2021/22. Had a bit of a shy game against Arsenal, like everyone. A calm first-half against Crystal Palace and stepped up in the second-half physically and with ball recoveries and dribbles. Suddenly the crowd was there too. This is what we demand from him. He is a calm person.
"He needs to discover this monster in him and unleash this on a regular basis because it is absolutely necessary. It is not enough to be just on the pitch. Maybe if you regard his last years, it may seem good because he is a regular but this is not enough. We cannot let him think it is enough, he needs to constantly push himself. We try every day and are quite successful given his development. He needs to understand how much potential he has and unleash this physical capacity on the daily. In training he cannot let loose. He needs to be under pressure and play every game like a cup final."
The 26-year-old clocked up a total of 1757 minutes in all competitions, as per FBref.com, so whether or not he judges that to be sufficient game time ahead of a big decision needing to be made on his future remains to be seen.
Chelsea fans- Do you think it's time for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to seek a challenge elsewhere and would you be happy if a potential swap deal saw the Blues acquiring Sergej Milinkovic-Savic? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments section below!
