Chelsea ‘could still pay Ruben Loftus-Cheek £100,000-a-WEEK even if he leaves on loan’

Chelsea would be happy to cover £100,000-a-week of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s wages if the Blues choose to send him out on loan, according to reports. 

The 24-year-old midfielder has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge and could be handed a new temporary club ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline. 

Southampton and Aston Villa are just two of the clubs believed to be interested in signing Loftus-Cheek as he looks to rediscover the form that earned him a spot in England’s World Cup squad in 2018.

Reports claim Chelsea could pay Ruben Loftus-Cheek £100,000-a-week even if he leaves 

The 24-year-old has started just one game this season and has been exiled at Stamford Bridge

And according to The Sun, Chelsea could pay the majority of the midfielder’s £173,000-a-week salary to his loan club as Loftus-Cheek searches for game time.

The midfielder suffered a horror Achilles injury in the summer of 2019 that was meant to rule him out of the 2019-20 season.

However, the coronavirus hiatus in the middle of the Premier League season allowed Loftus-Cheek to return before the end of the campaign and the player started Chelsea’s first match since lockdown against Aston Villa in June.

But the player has started just two matches in all competitions since then and has not featured for the club since being hauled off in the second-half of the opening day win over Brighton. 

Loftus-Cheek has not featured for Chelsea since the opening day win over Brighton (above)

Blues boss Lampard admits Loftus-Cheek could move away from Stamford Bridge in the coming days but still rates the midfielder as a long-term option for the club.

Lampard said last week: ‘I’m very open with Ruben. We’ve had a couple of conversations in the past week.

‘Ruben’s fit as a fiddle, he can play week in week out if he needs to, coming off the back of a lot of work.

‘He would have been playing games and fitter earlier, if it wasn’t for lockdown. 

‘There’s a possibility that Ruben may go out to play games, because I think that would be great for him.

Frank Lampard (right) says Loftus-Cheek (left) still has a future at Chelsea but could still leave 

‘We hold him in very high regard here, I certainly do, and that could be a good option for him. If that’s not the right option, he’ll be competitive in this squad as well, because of the quality that he has, and, hopefully, be a big plus for us.’

Southampton are the team most likely to make a move for the 24-year-old, though Ralph Hasenhuttl is also interested in Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien ahead of Monday’s deadline.

Aston Villa have also been linked with a move for Loftus-Cheek, but the top-flight side signed Chelsea man Ross Barkley on a separate loan deal this week.

Loftus-Cheek also spent a positive loan spell at Crystal Palace in the 2017-18 season, just before he was called up by Gareth Southgate to play in the World Cup.