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Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been told by manager Thomas Tuchel that he needs to impress him if he wants to save his Chelsea career.
The England international started his first game of the season in the centre of midfield in a much changed side against Aston Villa in the League Cup on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
But although he played the full 90 minutes, and was on the pitch when his side won the subsequent penalty shoot-out, it is not clear if he did enough to convince his manager.
Previously he had been given some minutes off the bench in the narrow Champions League win over Zenit St. Petersburg.
Loftus-Cheek is back at the Bridge after a difficult spell with Fulham last season in which the Cottagers were relegated back to the Championship, with the player himself coming in for his share of criticism for not contributing enough during his 30 league appearances under Scott Parker.
He is still trying to get back to the form that made him a regular starter and England international until Mauricio Sarri, before a serious injury in a post-season friendly derailed his career.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.