Ruben Loftus-Cheek's dad has made a great point about his son and Jose Mourinho

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By Dov Rawson

Published Nov 13, 2017

Mourinho handed RLC his debut in 2014.

Crystal Palace midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek was awarded the Man of the Match award on his England debut on Friday night.

The 21-year-old Chelsea loanee excelled in the middle of the park during the 0-0 draw with Germany at Wembley.

Loftus-Cheek was handed his Chelsea debut under Jose Mourinho in 2014 but has been on the fringes at Stamford Bridge since then.

He is being rewarded for his decision to seek first team football at Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace.

England manager Gareth Southgate spoke highly of Loftus-Cheek after the Germany stalemate and suggested the youngster's Chelsea teammates considered him a "threat" to their squad status.

"He has been able to battle through difficult spells at Chelsea, training with senior players who recognise his talent so get into him in training," Southgate said.

"Have they kept him in his place? Yes, I imagine they probably saw the threat.

"This season, going out and playing, has helped him. In the early season I saw him [for Palace] and he showed flashes of what we saw against Germany. I think he can affect big matches like he did."

Father of Loftus-Cheek makes brilliant point about Mourinho

The hugely talented England debutant is not the first youngster to struggle at Chelsea - but there's no question that Chelsea's youth policy harmed his development.

Loftus-Cheek is making huge strides at Crystal Palace but his father, Trevor Loftus-Cheek, has spoken candidly about his son's former manager at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in 2015 and has since taken the reins at Manchester United.

“Jose Mourinho held him back," said Trevor, as per the Daily Mail. "He should have been playing. Everyone behind the scenes was asking, "Why isn't he playing?" If Ruben had been playing for Mauricio Pochettino, he'd have 70, 80, 90 first-team appearances by now.”

Pochettino has brilliantly brought through a number of immensely talented youngsters at Spurs and there is surely no question that Loftus-Cheek would've been given more opportunities in North London.