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The midfielder was dropped for the 6-0 win over Barnsley and could now leave on loan, while question marks also remain over Callum Hudson-Odoi
West Ham and Aston Villa have registered an interest in signing Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan after he was left out of the squad for the Carabao Cup match against Barnsley.
The 24-year-old was said to be frustrated at the decision made by Frank Lampard and he is now considering his options having fallen down the pecking order after the Blues’ £220 million ($280m) summer transfer raids.
Villa are said to be targeting a No.8 for Dean Smith’s squad and they can lean on the relationship built between Loftus-Cheek and their assistant head coach John Terry, who is a legendary player for the Blues.
Meanwhile, West Ham would give Loftus-Cheek the chance to stay in London, with his only other previous loan spell coming at Crystal Palace in the 2017-18 season.
Antonio Rudiger is another Blues player unsettled by the spending at Chelsea having dropped to fifth in the pecking order following the signing of Thiago Silva from Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona have been offered Rudiger, while Roma and AC Milan are said to be interested in the defender who played in the Italian capital before his move to London in 2018.
“The situation with both is that they weren’t in the squad,” Lampard said as he explained why Loftus-Cheek and Rudiger weren’t involved in the 6-0 win. “I had a similar answer from the other day; they just weren’t in the squad. That is just a choice at the moment.
“Again, with the centre-halves I can’t have them all in the squad. I keep getting asked about the size of the squad. There might be movement, we know that, but nothing is concrete so don’t read too much into those selections at the minute.
“It will have to be right for the club, the individuals and me in terms of what happens in the next couple of weeks.”
Villa are also interested in Ross Barkley but the Blues are reluctant to let the midfielder go after his resurgence under Lampard.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes in the 6-0 cup win over the Championship side on Wednesday but is understood to be unhappy at being further down the list in terms of Lampard’s options.
There has been no indication of how the Blues will handle the 19-year-old and his future but they have him tied down to a lucrative four-year contract despite interest building over a loan move.
Bayern Munich, who tried to sign Hudson-Odoi 18 months ago, are said to be interested in making a temporary move for the youngster.
The signing of Ben Chilwell means that Emerson Palmieri is on the market this summer, with the west Londoners asking for at least £22m ($28m) for the Italy international.
The only club in the running to sign the defender so far are Antonio Conte’s Inter, although they are cautious about making a move at that price.
Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has become the sixth senior signing for the club this summer but his arrival won’t force out Kepa Arrizabalaga, who the Blues want to see compete against the Frenchman for a starting spot.
That comes after the likes of Valencia and Sevilla were priced out of loan moves due to his high wages. The Blues are also looking the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Baba Rahman.
With additional reporting from Ignasi Oliva
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