Ian Wright believes Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s performance on his England debut showed he ought to be given a chance by Chelsea.
Loftus-Cheek, who is on a season-long loan at Crystal Palace, impressed in Friday’s 0-0 draw with Germany at Wembley.
The midfielder joined Palace because his first-team chances at Chelsea were likely to remain limited, particularly following the summer signing of Tiémoué Bakayoko.
However, speaking as a pundit on ITV, former Arsenal and Palace star Wright insisted France international Bakayoko has so far done little to suggest he deserves to be ahead of Loftus-Cheek in the Chelsea pecking order.
Wright said: “I watched Bakayoko the other day playing further up front against Man United and he never done anything in that game that makes me think he’s a better player than Loftus-Cheek.
“I’m not knocking Chelsea – Chelsea do what they want – but surely you’ve got to give the guy a chance.
“Seeing what I’ve seen, he’s better than Bakayoko for me.”
Loftus-Cheek’s display against the Germans has propelled him into contention for a place in England’s squad for next year’s World Cup.
And Wright believes he deserves to stay part of the international set-up.
Wright said: “He’s got to be involved now at least, simply because of the way he’s performed – the confidence and he looked like he was growing into the game as it went along.
“He’s not played for Chelsea and now he’s getting a chance for Palace, so he’s not been on this stage. We saw him and he fitted in.”