Thomas Tuchel has shared that Chelsea duo Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were both “fantastic” during an in-house game at the club.
Barkley and Loftus-Cheek are two squad players at Stamford Bridge that returned for pre-season this summer after spells out on loan last year.
However, the midfield pairing are yet to play a minute between them so far this season, despite both being registered for domestic and European competitions.
Barkley, 27, had a mixed loan last season at Aston Villa that eventually saw him fall out of the best XI.
Meanwhile, 25-year-old attacking midfielder Loftus-Cheek was in and out of the team for a Fulham side that were eventually relegated.
Tuchel has delivered some positive news on the two players, though, by claiming that behind closed doors they’ve been impressive.
“With him (Ross Barkley), and with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, I’m super happy. We had the in-house game here and the two did fantastic,” Tuchel said, as quoted by The Telegraph.
“They trained very, very well despite their personal situations, which is maybe sometimes not the nicest one to have as a competitor, as a boy who has dreams, high hopes and loves his sport.”
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Unfortunately, it looks like Barkley and Loftus-Cheek will play very little first-team football in the next months.
It would make sense for them both to assess their situations in January, depending on how the upcoming months play out.
They are two players that have played for England, so on their day are top quality individuals capable of impressing in the Premier League.
However, they’ve both had a couple of difficult years and their careers are now at a crossroads.
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