Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a difficult 2024-25 season due to injuries, but he is hoping to be someone Massimiliano Allegri can count on.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanPress) reports, Loftus-Cheek is one of the few players that hasn’t been linked with a summer exit, and that is because Allegri has made it clear that he believes in the midfielder.
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Now, the Englishman is called upon to step up his game to carve out a prominent place for himself in the ‘new Milan’. Loftus-Cheek is coming off a very disappointing season, plagued by injuries and sub-par performances, and that means he isn’t considered a starter for the coming season.
His aim is to find as much playing time as possible and he has a good chance of doing so, given his characteristics are quite unique in the squad. Allegri has always appreciated physically strong midfielders who can carry the ball, so he’ll certainly have no problem playing him.
The main crux is whether avoid the many injuries that he suffered last year, which playing only one game a week (barring Coppa Italia weeks) will help. However, the new trio of Samuele Ricci, Luka Modric and Ardon Jashari should be the starting trio, even if – as RLC himself admitted – competition is healthy
It is unclear to me why the majority of folks think Modric will be a regular starter. He is 40.
Should we not be planning for him to slow down and using him to best effect accordingly?
Seriously…..it is not just injuries with RLC. The man has 10 domestic league assists in 13 professional seasons. For someone who plays that close to the box, that is terrible vision. For some reason SempreMilan has written the same RLC story written here about 5 different times since Allegri was signed, all stories have RLC’s only short coming as injuries. I actually like the player but I find these stories ridiculous. If Allegri has the ability to teach a better awareness and vision to Ruben…that’s a story i will care about. But same player playing a year without injuries…..I don’t hate the not see an impact player
10 goal scored in his debut season with Milan. That’s almost as profilic as Reijnders who also cannot defend one bit but was selected as the best midfielder of Serie A.
The problem with him was also his consistency, in games where he played well he looked like a great player but in games where he didn’t play well we were essentially a man down in midfield, he was horrible. I hope he gains consistency in games and stays injury free
RLC is skillful and strong, defends and has an eye for goal. With Modric Fofana Ricci and Jashari beside him, he will be useful.