Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s future heading into the summer seemed uncertain, but now he is once again a key part of the AC Milan midfield.
MilanNews begins a report on Loftus-Cheek by describing him as ‘strong, aggressive and powerful with the ball at his feet’. These are the attributes that led him to be labelled as one of the most exciting talents in the academy at Chelsea, and for Milan to eventually sign him.
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Milan rollercoaster
At Milan, he enjoyed a strong first year under Stefano Pioli in the 2023-24 season with 10 goals in all competitions. In his second season though he struggled a bit more, plagued by familiar injury problems and never really finding form.
Against Bari, albeit in a Coppa Italia match in mid-August, we were able to witness many positive signs from the Englishman. When in good shape, he combines great strength with technical ability, with perhaps his only real flaw being his long-range shooting.
RLC is a ‘tank’ in the open field and knows how to tear into space when needed. Under Allegri’s management, Milan’s number eight seems to have gained more awareness and confidence, aided by a position on the pitch that enhances him.
Loftus-Cheek isn’t a second striker, false nine, or attacking midfielder, but a box-to-box player. If he can truly hit the heights of his first campaign, it could perhaps send a message to England coach Thomas Tuchel, even if it seems difficult at present.
Moreover, an important note is that Milan will only have domestic competitions to focus on this season which should help in terms of managing the workloads of all the players, but above all someone like Loftus-Cheek.
It all depends on whether or not his body remains healthy…And that is a BIG doubt.
huge IF… we can only hope man.
He is 29. Had 2 good seasons in his entire career because of injuries. I wouldn’t rely on him to get past those issues in his 30s. I hope he has one good season and then Nottingham or some club like that spend 15-20 on him and Milan get a less injury prone player.
I also think he is overpaid for what he contributes. 4M net is way to much for a guy known to be injury prone.
He has never been good enough, any season.
Getting on the end of a few chances in his 1st season with us never papered over the fact his decision making is terrible. He has no end product.
Should have been sold before all others. Now they are selling this narative he is going to replace Tiji, he is not.
He just has to bulldoze forward and make late runs into the box. If there’s 10 goals at the end of that again, great.
Sure goals are important but I believe the collective is more so.
Hope he has a good season, but at this stage of his career I don’t see much changing. The odd good game and otherwise just a liability, he’s a slightly better version of Musah
He makes terrible decision on the ball many times, because he doesn’t have the vision and also has poor shooting..