London: Gary Cahill believes Ruben Loftus-Cheek has shown he is now ready to press for regular first team action after scoring his first Chelsea goal in the FA Cup victory over Scunthorpe.
Loftus-Cheek, 19, will hope his efforts after appearing as a substitute in Sunday's third round tie will be enough to earn him a starting spot when West Bromwich Albion visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The London-born midfielder has been on the fringes of the squad since being introduced by Jose Mourinho at the end of last season and his weekend goal helped his side extend the unbeaten start to Guus Hiddink's regime following the dismissal of Mourinho.
Chelsea centre-back Cahill is convinced Loftus-Cheek can make a similar impact to that made by Delle Alli at Tottenham this season.
"I'm delighted for him, he's had to be patient and he's worked really hard in training," Cahill told Chelsea's website.
"He's a great kid who works really hard at his game; he's been chomping at the bit, he wants to get involved, he wants to play.
"He's shown that patience and he came on and took his chance. His performance was great and, as a young boy, you just want to do everything right when you come on, especially at home with the crowd here.
"You might not get too many opportunities when you're young so to come on and do as well as he did I was really pleased for him.
"For me, he has everything you need to become a top player. Dele Alli's rise has been incredibly fast, incredibly quick, so why can't he do it?"
Last season's Premier League champions will record back to back league victories for the first time this season if they can beat Albion.
A disastrous first half of the campaign has left the club in the bottom half of the league, 13 points away from the Champions League places.
AFP
