Although Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s season didn’t have the perfect start, it looks like he might be ready to kick on.
He returned from the World Cup with a reputation that was through the roof, and was probably expecting to finally break through at Chelsea.
But injury once again halted Loftus-Cheek’s progress and he missed out on valuable playing time.
In his absence, Ross Barkley staked his claim for starting and is probably ahead of Loftus-Cheek in the pecking order.
But over the last few weeks, Loftus-Cheek has begun to make his comeback once again.
He scored a hat-trick on only his second start of the season against BATE Borisov in the Europa League.
And he’s featured off the bench regularly for Maurizio Sarri since then.
As a result, Gareth Southgate has decided Loftus-Cheek deserves a spot in his England squad for the upcoming games.
This is in spite of other midfielders – such as James Maddison and Mason Mount – probably deserving a call-up ahead of Loftus-Cheek.
Southgate’s willingness to call up the Chelsea man just highlights what the footballing world thinks of his potential.
The England manager would rather call up Loftus-Cheek who is probably not match-fit rather than a player who is playing regularly.
And it is this potential that Sarri could be looking to tap into as the season goes on.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
