Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both scored again during Thursday’s win against Slavia Praha, and it is looking more and more like AC Milan got a bargain with both players.
La Gazzetta dello Sport call them the ‘Blues Brothers’ because they arrived together from Chelsea last summer, with Pulisic costing €20m and Loftus-Cheek €16m plus €4m in potential bonuses, thus totalling €36m (maximum €40m) investment for two players who struggled in the Premier League but in Italy make the difference.
When they arrived they picked the numbers 11 and 8 respectively, but there was never any discussion about the qualities of both. Much less guaranteed was the ability to be consistent, decisive not for one match but for a month, a run of games, a season.
It’s difficult to say how much Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek would be worth today – the market depends on the offers – but it’s easy to say that Milan would sit at the table for €36m for one of the two, certainly not for the pair.
The two former Blues were starters from day one, like Tijjani Reijnders. The battle between Pulisic and Samu Chukwueze never really started: the former was too intelligent, hit the ground running and never let go of his spot.
Loftus-Cheek has brought a new dimension to the midfield and has grown this season. He started off strong, had a moment of emptiness, then got better. The Englishman has also changed the way he plays: now he plays closer to Giroud and finds a road to the goal in a different way.
The ex-Fulham loanee knows how to hurt with his late runs and with headers but he is useful in many ways, he wins many duels and also knows how to play in tight spaces. Pioli hoped to find a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic type player with him, and he has.
With his goal against Slavia, Pulisic reached 11 for the season, equaling his all-time high. He only reached 11 in 2019-20, his first year at Chelsea, when he seemed destined to be his launching point. In Verona he can overtake that.
RLC on the other hand is one away from double figures: five goals in the league, four in the Europa League. Lately he has only scored in cup competitions but the numbers in Serie A are also positive, especially when looking back.
In his career he only reached 10 goals in the magical (for him) 2018-19 season, when with Sarri’s Chelsea he won the Europa League and above all showed himself to be one of their best players.
Sarri was certainly the coach who gave him the most trust before this season but Pioli probably surpasses him now, especially by giving him a role further forward.
Side note: the injuries have decreased significantly. Loftus-Cheek stopped for a month and missed October and it was no coincidence that Milan was in difficulty at that time. Pulisic had a contracture and fatigue in the Autumn, nothing particularly serious.
Everything is linked. If you are mentally well, if you have confidence, injuries decrease. And if injuries decrease, you find consistency and play better.
Some Milan fans were talking about Pulisic and Loftus Cheek as Chelsea rejects. Clearly some people don’t have a clue about football. Smh
Pulisic has now scored more goals than Brahim Diaz who Milan should have still signed but we did well to get Pulisic.
Redbird knows what they are doing and next season with a few more signings Milan will win the scudetto and go further in the Champions League.
Sarri was not the coach that Pulisic played under his first season at Chelsea. Sarri left before he played. He won Champions League while at Chelsea not European.
Chelsea were stupid to misuse Pulisic. A C Milan got a steal and are now seeing the reward for playing him.