Paulo Fonseca has been working with the Milan squad since the beginning of July and the first impressions have been very positive. Not just among the fans, but also the players as confirmed by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Loftus-Cheek has been in the squad since the start of the pre-season, not called up for the Euros with England, and has thus worked a lot with Fonseca already. In the first two US friendlies, we have also seen the midfielder used both in the No.10 as well as a more defensive-minded role.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, sharing his thoughts on various topics, Loftus-Cheek was asked about his first impressions of Fonseca. Upon stating that he likes the Portuguese manager, he was also asked what in particular it is that has been working well.
So let’s talk about Fonseca’s changes: what type is he?
“Very positive. We train very hard, very intensely, and that’s great. He always encourages us to ask questions, he wants to get his concepts across as quickly as possible. He seems very humble to me, in contact with reality.”
What does he ask you?
“Different things. We are making great steps, against City and Real we played really good football and we can still improve quickly.”
Let’s go into detail: what are the requests for you?
“We midfielders have to play close together to combine. As a team we want to build from the bottom, we must always have options to play the ball. In some situations I find myself being the most advanced player, but it depends on the rotations. We move around a lot.”
Although he did score ten goals last season, the midfielder will be hoping for more consistent performances this upcoming campaign as he faded towards the end. The big question is what his main role will be, No.10 again or in the midfield tandem?