Chelsea have ruled out selling Ruben Loftus-Cheek and plan to play him in midfield alongside new signing Ross Barkley in the future, reports the London Evening Standard.
Antonio Conte’s side signed Barkley from Everton in a £15m deal at the end of last week but his arrival raised serious doubts about Loftus-Cheek’s long-term future at the club.
The 21-year-old joined Palace on a season-long loan deal at the start of the season and has established himself as a key player for the Eagles in their bid to beat the drop.
Loftus-Cheek has dropped even further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following Barkley’s arrival but chiefs at Chelsea have no interest in selling the England international.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson has already said he would like to take advantage of the situation by signing Loftus-Cheek on a permanent basis, but the best he can hope for now is to bring the young midfielder back to Selhurst Park on loan next season.
Loftus-Cheek has started 15 league games for Palace this season but has been forced to play in wide areas for the bulk of that time.
However, only Wilfried Zaha (4.4) completes more dribbles per game than Loftus-Cheek (3) of all Palace players in the league this term.
