https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2019/04/13/
ben-loftus-cheek-discusses-healthy-competition-and-his-desire-to
Ruben Loftus-Cheek discusses healthy competition and his desire to improve
13 Apr 2019
The latest edition of the official Chelsea magazine is on sale now
featuring exclusive interviews with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who discusses his
desire to make his mark at Chelsea after coming through our Academy, and
Andriy Shevchenko, who remembers how he fell in love with London and the
Blues fans.
https://i.imgur.com/h4829KN.jpg
Cover star Loftus-Cheek explains the challenge he was set by Maurizio
Sarri in the summer to prove he deserved to be part of the Chelsea
midfield, and how he worked hard on the training pitch to convince our
head coach and earn his chances to impress this season.
'He told me I needed to improve on my positioning and develop my defensive
awareness if I wanted to play in midfield for him,' he told Chelsea. 'But
I worked hard on the things he had talked to me about and I think I've
improved a lot on that aspect of my game, and he seemed to see the
improvement and I think he sees me as a midfielder now too.
'I completely respect the honesty of that and it gave me something to work
towards. I've improved off the back of it and now I'm playing in midfield,
so he's an honest guy.'
Having progressed all the way through our Academy system since an early
age, Sarri is just the latest member of Chelsea coaching staff who had
helped Loftus-Cheek's development into one of the Premier League's most
promising complete midfielders, and the England international also
revealed how he was encouraged to add new elements to his game throughout
his teenage years with the Blues.
'I never used to use my body as much as I do now. Eddie Newton was always
saying “why don't you use your strength and your power, just put your
body there and blow past him” because I naturally just always went to
dribble and beat people with quick feet.
'It took me quite a while to change how I play and use my strength and my
body to my advantage, but I'm kind of mixing the two now, which at times
can be deadly. That's where working with a coach can really help, because
when you're good enough in an aspect you don't think to change it. But
these coaches, especially Eddie, see things differently and that's where
you can really improve.'
Of course, our number 12 is just one of several internationals vying for a
place in the Chelsea midfield this season, with N'Golo Kante, Jorginho,
Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic all having featured regularly.
However, the 23-year-old feels that abundance of options at Sarri's
disposal and friendly competition between team-mates is helping drive them
all to be the best players they can be.
'There are a few options in midfield and it's all healthy competition for
us, especially in training, pushing you to improve and do the best you
can, to give you a chance of playing on the weekend. It definitely gives
you that hunger and drive to be the best you can be in training, so it's
good for you personally and good for the team.'