Gianfranco Zola believes that Ruben Loftus-Cheek can become the player of the season thanks to his qualities, while he also praised the signing of Christian Pulisic too.
Both the midfielder and the winger arrived from Chelsea during the current summer window and they have combined for three goal contributions already. Pulisic has two goals in his first two games, while he was set up by Loftus-Cheek in the 4-1 win over Torino on Saturday.
Zola is someone who knows not only Italian football well but also Chelsea, given that he was a fan favourite in his time there. He spoke on a segment for DAZN called ‘Magic Box’ about Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic, who went from Stamford Bridge to San Siro.
“Christian Pulisic is a player who, if he avoids injuries, is very strong and very important, he has remarkable qualities,” he began (via Radio Rossonera).
“But another new AC Milan signing who has never been considered for his value is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He can play in different positions… mezzala, midfielder… he has impressive technical and physical qualities, he can become the player of the season.
“When he was at Chelsea with Maurizio Sarri, he was the player who made them change gears, because he’s someone who has so much physicality and quality that he’s the one who really allowed them to break up the games. He received the ball, beat a man and created superiority: he was really decisive.”
Zola was asked who his favourites are for the Scudetto given that it is such a difficult league to call, and he certainly seemed to remain on the fence rather than picking a team out.
“Juventus are one of those battling to win the Scudetto, together with Napoli, Milan, Inter and the two Roman clubs. It’s the beauty that our league has right now: there are different teams that can win it, and this variety makes it more pleasant, more attractive.
“It reminds me a bit of the seven sisters period, it leads the teams to improve. Seven teams playing for the title raise the level and quality. Certainly there are leagues that are even higher in terms of quality of play, such as the Premier League, but I think we are on the right track.
“The fact that even the medium-small clubs try to get to a result [against top sides] thanks to their style of play is another positive sign.”
i would have absolutely loved to see zola in red and black in his active days.
We had better players filling those roles, our sqaud was monstrous.
I know that we had fantastic teams back then but i nevertheless liked zola a great deal but we could have swapped De Canio or Raducioiu for him. Not that i disliked those players though and we even had melli for a short stint as well.
RLC is a tank. He’s an upgrade to Kessie for sure. He’s faster and more dynamic with an eye for goal. If he stays fit (which I think Serie A is less physical of a league) and keeps playing like this, he’ll be an absolute steal. Along with Puli and REIJNDERS.
I think his main problem is he hangs on to the ball too long. He needs to be a bit quicker when getting rid of it. Improve his decision-making. Other than that, he’s good. Strong, quick, decent on the ball. Could be a very good squad player for us.