Realistic Expectations for Ruben Loftus-Cheek at Chelsea in 2015/16

We’ve seen the future, but it’s going to have to wait. For now.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s two performances this season have shown how much he has matured since leading Chelsea to FA Youth Cup glory in 2014.

He remains a raw talent, still learning his trade, yet the signs are already there as to how far he can take his career.

Against Crystal Palace in a 2-1 home defeat in August, the 19-year-old gave Jose Mourinho a minor positive on an otherwise frustrating afternoon.

He came off the bench along with Kenedy to inject a bit of life into Chelsea’s flat performance that day, and despite the game being lost, his performance said plenty.

Loftus-Cheek played with an element of authority about him: He was demanding possession and trying to make things happen. He looked comfortable in a team of big egos and even bigger price tags.

Then came his Man of the Match display against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League.

ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images

If there were doubts as to whether he has the capacity to cut it at the highest level, that game showed us he does.

We can talk about pressure on young shoulders, and despite Tel Aviv being relative minnows when we consider the other teams Chelsea will have to face if they are to make the final in Milan, Loftus-Cheek still carried a significant burden.

Chelsea’s disastrous start to the campaign has meant every game in the near future suddenly has a must-win tag on it.

Winning just once in all of August, Chelsea can’t afford to be cut adrift any more than they already are in the Premier League. In Europe, Mourinho’s men need to create some momentum to carry through to the last 16 in February.

They started that process with a routine 4-0 win in their first European outing of the campaign—a win for which Loftus-Cheek was very much a catalyst.

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Mourinho on Loftus-Cheek "I think he did very well, which is good for us. I think he'll compete to start with the players." #CFC

— ChelseaTalk (@TheBlues_Talk) September 16, 2015"

Indeed, it was as wise a move from the manager as much as it was brave to start the youngster. Mourinho needed a response from his players in that game, and the feeling was Chelsea couldn't go another 90 minutes without winning.

Mourinho came up double trumps: Chelsea breezed to their victory, and Loftus-Cheek was exceptional in the process.

We need only cast our minds back to September 2007, when similar opposition to Tel Aviv hammered the final nail into the coffin of Mourinho’s first spell as Chelsea manager.

We all expected his team to cast Rosenborg aside with ease back then, but it didn't happen. Mourinho will say otherwise, but there would have been a slight fear of history repeating itself for the Chelsea boss.

Where Loftus-Cheek is concerned, victory over Tel Aviv has ensured his Blues career is now back on track after his run-in with Mourinho at the back end of 2014/15.

The manager accused him of some lazy performances on the Premier League champions’ post-season tour of Asia. Now he has an element of trust back.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

It shouldn't mean we will see him playing every week, however. Nor should we expect it to.

It’s rare that young players can be thrown into the first team and become instant regulars, especially when they’re competing against world-class stars for places.

Loftus-Cheek has the potential, but that hasn't been transformed into anything tangible yet.

His job at Chelsea is to first be trusted enough to cover for senior players when they need a rest, such as he did in the Champions League.

That means also stepping up to the plate against Walsall in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.

Mourinho has admitted that he overused his key Chelsea players last season. It’s why he gave them plenty of sporadic breaks toward the end of the season when the title was wrapped up; it’s the main reason for them coming back late in pre-season to start the defence of their title.

The Portuguese's strategy has been to ensure his big names are fit and ready come April, when it really will be crunch time in the campaign.

If they can maintain the pace Manchester City have set, there will be a title to go for. But as champions of England already, Mourinho will have one eye on a voyage back to Milan for the Champions League final as well.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

To do that, he needs to manage Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas and others much better throughout the season.

Those players can’t be playing in matches Chelsea are expected to win; they can’t be starting the opening match of the Champions League group stage, for instance, or travelling to the Midlands in midweek to face League 1 opponents.

It’s squad players who play their part in any team getting as far as Chelsea hope to this term, which is why Loftus-Cheek’s sudden emergence is significant.

When he played against Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion last season, he still had the look of a young kid. The neat touches were there, yet what stood out most was the nerves.

In the time since, he’s grown comfortable with his position under Mourinho. Loftus-Cheek is beginning to realise that he does actually belong.

There’s a difference between belonging and being vital, though. He belongs at Chelsea in the sense he has the ability to be part of Mourinho’s squad, but he isn't at that elite level yet.

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Wonderful European debut from the boy Loftus-Cheek. What a prospect. #CFC

— ChelseaFansChannel (@ChelseaFansYT) September 16, 2015"

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For all those academy hopefuls at Premier League clubs & the England team in general, I would like to see Ruben Loftus-Cheek do well tonight

— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceIndy) September 16, 2015"

He needs to continue picking up experience wherever he can, seizing the opportunities his manager gives him by playing his part in the team’s ultimate goal of success.

Mourinho’s management of him thus far has worked. Loftus-Cheek already has enough pressure of being the face of the Chelsea academy, the player who is expected to emulate John Terry’s success by rising through the ranks to greatness.

What he doesn't need is to be thrown into a crunch London derby against Arsenal when the stakes are even higher.

Regardless of talent, Loftus-Cheek must develop his mental resilience to the point he can perform in matches of that magnitude and not be questioned.

Right now, that’s the biggest thing holding him back. Like most things, that will come with time.

For now, he must be allowed to enjoy his football, as he very clearly is.

Speaking to Bleacher Report after his starring role in that 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, Loftus-Cheek was relaxed and taking it all in his stride despite being named UEFA’s Man of the Match.

Indeed, when he was substituted late on, the Chelsea fans took to signing his name in appreciation for a job well done.

“I just tried to enjoy the occasion tonight. Before the game, I said to myself, ‘Just enjoy the moment and hopefully that will bring out the best football I can play.’

“It was amazing [when the fans sang my name]. They were amazing tonight, and I just want to push on and play more at Stamford Bridge.

“[Being Man of the Match] will give me plenty of confidence to play that way again, so all in all I’m happy.”

To keep it that way, we shouldn't be asking too much of him just yet.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes