Chelsea have announced the exit of another one of their brightest prospects on a temporary basis, as it was confirmed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined Crystal Palace on a season-long loan deal.
Good chance to play and be part of the team
Loftus-Cheek has been with the Blues since the age of eight, and has gone on to establish himself a England Under-21 regular but has failed to do the same in Antonio Conte's side.
The 21-year-old had a major positional change under the Italian but impressed in the opportunities he was given, but he missed the last leg of the season through injury which saw him make 11 appearances but collect his second Premier League trophy.
Loftus-Cheek has indicated in the past his desire to collect more first-team experience, new Palace manager Frank de Boer made the England youth international his first signing for The Eagles and he shared his excitement at playing more regularly at Selhurst Park.
“I had the option of coming to Palace and I thought that it would be great for me,” Loftus-Cheek told cpfc.co.uk. “ Palace is good club so I thought it’s a good chance to play here and be a part of the team."
"He is a very talented player and is a good height and even though he is quite tall," de Boer stated. "He has very good technique."
"He is a technical and physical player," the coach added. "So after I looked at our squad I thought he could be a very helpful player for the team and gives us a quality injection."
Extending his stay even further
Chelsea are renowned for collecting young players and sending them across Europe to get them some vital experience, The Blues do have a distinct relationship with Dutch clubs with the likes of SBV Vitesse and PSV Eindhoven who have had striker Marco van Ginkel for the last two seasons.
The striker scored seven goals in 15 appearances in the Eeredivisie last season having previous loan deals at the likes of AC Milan and Stoke in recent years, the 24-year-old was expected to make a return to the capital this summer but it is believed that Eindhoven are wanting to extend his stay for a third season.