Crystal Palace fan view: Ruben Loftus-Cheek cream of the crop for England - now he must help Eagles!

Ruben Loftus-Cheek announced himself on the international stage on Friday night with a performance that drew admiring glances from manager and pundits alike. He is far from the finished product though, so what does he need to do back at Crystal Palace to elevate his game to the next level and can he be on the plane to Russia?

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Contribution, not ability, the next step

Loftus-Cheek’s ability has been obvious since he first stepped onto the pitch for Crystal Palace. His size is slightly deceiving, while strong he’s far from an ‘enforcer’ type player. He’s excellent at finding half a yard and getting turned and his dribbling is excellent, aggressive and positive – every time he gets the ball his first thought is to create something. All of those qualities were on display for England, and is the reason why everyone was so taken with him.

He has to turn that ability into end-product, however. Crystal Palace have been terrible for large portions of this season, and Loftus-Cheek has been one of the few that have rallied against the sinking team around him, but fantastic performances have been all he’s been able to muster so far. That may sound enough, but if Ruben is to turn into the player we all suspect he could become he must score goals, fashion assists and bend games to his will.

He’s young, he’s got plenty of time and is an asset to whichever club he’s playing for – don’t mistake me for ungrateful or snide. To take himself to the next level, the challenge for Ruben is to start finishing off the chances he creates for himself, to turn the powering runs into goals for Crystal Palace.

If he can do that, the world will be at his feet.

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Could Ruben Loftus-Cheek be on the plane to Russia?

Why not!?

This iteration of the England team is not overly furnished with quality midfielders and if you need evidence of this look no further than Jake Livermore and Jack Cork, both of whom find themselves in the latest squad. In the space of just a few years, the squad has gone from boasting players such as Lampard, Gerrard & Scholes – players who were genuinely world class at their peak – to others who, frankly, aren’t.

After just a single promising game on his debut it would be ridiculous to say that he will be on the plane, but foolish not to accept there’s a chance of his inclusion. To his credit, Gareth Southgate has signalled his willingness to deviate from the status quo when it comes to picking players not featuring for their clubs. The presence of Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jordan Pickford, together with the absence of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere is a testament to that.

There has to be a degree of continuity between squads, but so too must there be the inclusion of talented young players which are playing (and impressing) every week. If you want these players to be the future, then you must give them a chance now. It still frustrates me that players like Theo Walcott were selected for every squad ahead of the flourishing Zaha – ultimately we lost him to another country but we also missed the progression that England inclusion could have brought.

Gareth Southgate looks like he is unwilling to make the same mistake with England’s new crop of youngsters. On Friday night, some of them already started repaying him for that.