Ruben Loftus-Cheek appeared to bid farewell to Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge after he was substituted against Newcastle. The 27-year-old midfielder, who has been heavily linked with an exit recently, was replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka at the hour-mark and received a standing ovation from the home support.
As the fourth official punched his number into the interactive board, Loftus-Cheek began to make his way over to the dugout; he hugged Enzo Fernandez and Cesar Azpilicueta before clapping the fans. As the England international neared the touchline he turned around and gave a little wave, suggesting that he could leave this summer.
football.london understands that AC Milan have made contact with Chelsea over a potential move for Loftus-Cheek. The Cobham graduate sees his contract at Stamford Bridge expire at the end of next season and, as of yet, there's been no official talks to renew his deal.
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It's said that the Blues are looking to offload a number of players this summer in order to compensate for two heavy-spending windows – not to mention the bloated squad which needs trimming down. With the club looking to balance the books, Cobham graduates – such as Loftus-Cheek – are the most attractive sales as they go down as straight profit.
Speaking on the talkSPORT White and Jordan show, Simon Jordan explained why offloading academy stars is the most profitable option for Chelsea this summer. The former Crystal Palace chairman said: "If they sell Conor Gallagher who is a £40m footballer, sell Ruben Loftus-Cheek for £40m and Mason Mount who is probably a £60m footballer, they’ve just made £140m worth of profit.
"They’ve spent £600m which they’ve capitalised over eight years on each player and so it’s depreciating at £75m-a-year. There’s your answer. It’s practical, pragmatic business.
"Yes, to do that you’re sacrificing some of your academy stars who fans want to see play – so what? Too bad, this is how it works in the real world.
"Loftus-Cheek has had six years to lay his claim at Chelsea and he hasn’t done it, Gallagher is in and out and is a very good player and we’d love to have him back at Crystal Palace, but is he going to be able to move out some of these top players who Chelsea have brought in to achieve something? Debatable.
"With all of that in mind, there’s no reason to suggest that Boehly can’t achieve it. Are you telling me there’s going to be no one wanting to buy Conor Gallagher? Are you telling me that nobody is going to want to buy Ruben Loftus-Cheek?
"Are you telling me that no one is going to want to buy Mason Mount, because if you did say that it would be ridiculous. We all know there will be a massive, big market for all three of those players."
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