Former Chelsea boss chasing Blues star and hoping to use ex-teammate to persuade midfielder

In recent seasons, a number of graduates from Chelsea’s Cobham academy have gone on to shine, not only in West London but also further afield. 

Reece James, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all now impressing every week for the first team, alongside Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Over the summer, the likes of Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour and Ethan Ampadu all left on loan and have since gone on to impress at their respective clubs, while Tino Livramento followed in the footsteps of Tariq Lamptey in leaving permanently, and the pair are now two of the most impressive young full-backs in the country.

There are also a number of players who left the Blues earlier on in their development, such as Eddie Nketiah and Jamal Musiala, the latter now impressing in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.

Loftus-Cheek has taken advantage of a number of midfield injuries at Stamford Bridge

Now, however, it appears that Chelsea face a battle to keep hold of one of their homegrown talents.

According to Il Romanista, former Blues boss Jose Mourinho is eyeing up a move for Loftus-Cheek, and hopes that former Chelsea teammate Tammy Abraham will be able to persuade the midfielder to make the move to Italy.

The Roma boss plucked Abraham away from West London over the summer and now hopes Loftus-Cheek will join him in the Italian capital.

The 25-year-old has had a stuttering career at Stamford Bridge so far.

Having impressed as a teenager, he broke into the first team squad under Maurizio Sarri and was one of the Blues’ standout performers during the 2018/19 campaign, before suffering a serious injury during a mid-season friendly in the U.S.

Since then, a loan spell at neighbouring Fulham was relatively unsuccessful, but in recent months he has forced himself back in to the first team reckoning at Chelsea.

The England international has featured in each of the Blues’ last 12 league matches, and has earned praise from both his manager Thomas Tuchel and supporters.

Roma reportedly view the Englishman as a more affordable option than the likes of Saul Niguez, Corentin Tolisso and Douglas Luiz.

Mourinho is an admirer of his physicality, as well as his experience having played in Europe.