West Ham have been given a boost in their pursuit of Chelsea trio Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Danny Drinkwater, according to a club insider.
Ex-WHU Employee, who is a very reliable source of Hammers news, revealed on the West Ham Way podcast broadcast on Phoenix FM on Wednesday night (29:40) that the west London club will allow one and possibly even all three of the England internationals to spend the 2018-19 season on loan.
“I’ve mentioned the Chelsea players Barkley, Loftus-Cheek and Barkley,” Ex-WHU Employee told the podcast. “One, if not all, will be allowed to go out on loan. We are interested in all three of them to strengthen our midfield.”
OPINION
It would represent quite a coup for West Ham if they were able to clinch a season-long loan for one of Barkley, Loftus-Cheek or Drinkwater. All three are England internationals, have growing or established reputations and would make a big impression were they to rock up to the London Stadium next season. In an encouraging development, Chelsea appear willing to loan out at least one of them, and possible even all three. Loftus-Cheek spent last season at Crystal Palace, where he was integral to their Premier League survival before his World Cup call-up and he has already made two appearances for high-flying England in Russia. Barkley joined from Everton in January but made little impression and is likely to welcome the possibility of regular game time after a wretched year. With Drinkwater also suffering from the surfeit of options at Chelsea, he would probably feel the season. Crucially for West Ham, they are not top-four rivals of Chelsea – far from it – and their geographical situation also hands them an advantage in negotiations.
