LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Chelsea poses with the Premier League Trophy after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea’s 21-year-old midfielder has joined Crystal Palace on a 12 month loan in the pursuit of regular first team action.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the highly-touted Chelsea youngster, has joined Crystal Palace on loan in pursuit of regular first-team action.

Loftus-Cheek has played for Chelsea in each of their last two Premier League-winning seasons. He got his most pitch time in their mostly miserable 2015-16 campaign once they had little to play for, though. Last season, he made six league appearances, totaling just 30 minutes on the pitch. It makes sense he’s moved on to try to get more senior soccer under his belt.

The 21-year-old wasn’t selected by England for the recent European U-21 Football Championship. His lack of first team soccer appears to be proving costly to his international ambitions.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined Crystal Palace on a season-long loan from Chelsea. This is just some of what he has to offer. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/U6mzfA2zDp — Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 12, 2017

The London born midfielder is not alone in leaving Stamford Bridge on loan in the pursuit of regular soccer. Sixteen players recently returned to Chelsea having spent the 2016-17 season playing elsewhere. If anything, Loftus-Cheek should probably have left west London sooner than he has.

It will be very interesting to see where Loftus-Cheek will play for Palace. The club recently unveiled Frank de Boer as their new manager. His Ajax team played in the 4-3-3 formation which is standard in Dutch soccer.

The former Barcelona man then began last season at Internazionale in Serie A, but only lasted 14 matches before being replaced. De Boer mostly used a 4-2-3-1 in Italy, and Palace used both that and a 4-3-3 at times last season. The Eagles are well equipped squad-wise to play with either formation.

Loftus-Cheek has also played in different areas of the midfield for Chelsea. He played in attacking midfield during his limited appearances last season. Prior to 2016-17, the Palace new boy had featured in a more central or defensive midfield role for the Blues.

He may not be at the crossroads of his career yet, but Loftus-Cheek needs this loan move to go well. Otherwise his promising beginning in top level soccer will be in danger of going to waste.