Loftus-Cheek could be Chelsea’s homegrown superstar after scoring against Scuthorpe

Born in South London, on the books at Stamford Bridge since he was eight, he could become a poster boy for a policy. After only playing two minutes of first-team football since October, he was a scorer against Scunthorpe. Richard Jolly reports.

Chelsea's English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, left, celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the FA Cup third-round match against Scunthorpe at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday. Glyn Kirk / AFPShow less

Chelsea 2

Costa 13’, Loftus-Cheek 68’

Scunthorpe 0

Man of the match Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)

Back in happier days, when he talked of staying for years and seemed intent on founding a dynasty, Jose Mourinho liked to present himself as a manager who would oversee the rise of Chelsea’s homegrown products.

This has been a season when many of Mourinho’s plans have turned to dust and, long before he was dismissed, there were reasons to wonder if he would really trust in youth. As a man-manager with a capacity to rejuvenate disenchanted senior players, Guus Hiddink’s priorities may lie elsewhere, but it was at least a landmark day for Chelsea’s academy.

Two weeks before his 20th birthday, Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened his Chelsea account. Born in South London, on the books at Stamford Bridge since he was eight, he could become a poster boy for a policy. After only playing two minutes of first-team football since October, he was a scorer against Scunthorpe.

“It was a really clean finish,” Hiddink said. “We have these youngsters and I know them now after three or four weeks. When it is a possibility, I don’t hesitate to bring them [on]. He can be of big value now. He is 19. I thought he was 22 or 23 when I came in. He has the physique of a grown player already. It is good to see young players knocking on the door.”

The promise was of further opportunities but the worrying fact is that John Terry, who turned 35 in December, is the last academy product to become a regular. The reality is that Loftus-Cheek only began on the bench against a Scunthorpe team in the lower half of League One. The complication is that midfield rivals, whether Oscar, Cesc Fabregas or John Obi Mikel, are undergoing revivals under Hiddink.

Loftus-Cheek, who came on for Oscar, showed he can get forward while operating as a No 10 and supplied the precise finish when Cesar Azpilicueta picked him out. It was his first shot on target in senior football. “100 per cent,” he noted.

Both goals set up by full-backs. Branislav Ivanovic guided a cross into the penalty area for Costa to deliver the opener, the forward applying a delicate touch while in mid-air. It was his fourth goal in three games for Hiddink which, as he delivered just four in 20 for Mourinho this season, showed the scale of the transformation in his fortunes since the Portuguese’s sacking. Downplaying his role, Hiddink said he had merely had “small conversations” with the combustible Costa. “He is a very energetic, powerful personality,” he said. “He is focusing himself now on what he is good at.”

His return to form is timely. Costa has assumed a still greater importance. With Radamel Falcao suffering an injury setback, Loic Remy sidelined and Patrick Bamford, while back from Crystal Palace, not even on the bench, in a sign he will be loaned out again, he is the lone striker in every respect.

Yet his goal could have been cancelled out. “We gave them far too much respect in the first half,” Scunthorpe manager Mark Robins said. They improved thereafter and claimed a spot kick when Kevin van Veen felt Ramires tripped him. “It was a penalty, but it was one of those things,” a philosophical Robins said, refusing to blame referee Craig Pawson. While Mourinho spent much of the season complaining about officials, Hiddink had no need to echo his predecessor’s gripes.

Scunthorpe did not give up. Jordan Clarke hit the bar with a thunderous 86th-minute shot and Neal Bishop almost scored with the final kick of the ball. By then, however, Chelsea had booked their place in the last 32. Embarrassed by League One opposition, in Bradford, last January, they had overcome them now.

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