Bournemouth and West Ham eye Chelsea midfielder

 

Bournemouth and West Ham are both keen to prise Ruben Loftus-Cheek away from Chelsea next month, claims The Sun.

 

Loftus-Cheek has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth under new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri this season and has been heavily linked with a January move away.

 

Sarri ruled out the prospect of Loftus-Cheek leaving on loan at the start of November but that hasn’t stopped Bournemouth and West Ham monitor his situation at Stamford Bridge.

 

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe currently only has two fit senior central midfielders and wants to bring the England international to Dean Court to enhance their chances of a top-10 finish.

 

The Cherries have previously signed Nathan Ake on loan from Chelsea but with Loftus-Cheek they would like to include an option to make his signature permanent at the end of the season.

 

However, Howe can expect to face competition from West Ham, who would also like to provide Loftus-Cheek with regular playing time.

 

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have started to hit their stride in recent weeks and are now only five points off sixth after a run of three straight wins.

 

Bournemouth and West Ham eye Chelsea midfielder

 

 

Loftus-Cheek has only made six Premier League appearances this season and been limited to just one start in that time.

 

Despite a lack of playing time, the 22-year-old has still scored three league goals and even netted a hat-trick in a Europa League match against BATE Borisov.

 

Furthermore, only one player has completed more dribbles than Loftus-Cheek in the Europa League this season (18).