A key tactical cog drawing Boateng comparisons – Loftus-Cheek in his element at Milan

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was one of the first signings that AC Milan made during the summer transfer window, and when he’s fit he has been virtually undroppable for Stefano Pioli.

MilanNews begin an article on Loftus-Cheek by highlighting his importance from a tactical point of view given that he has a hybrid role on the pitch, with characteristics capable of changing during the match and combining the right amount of quality and work rate.

The importance of the Englishman is visible to everyone, with Milan who – thanks to the physical size of the former Chelsea player – are capable of creating density in the middle of the pitch, while he is often seen acting as a filter between midfield and attack.

Those perfectly-timed runs into the box are becoming a habit, too. In the last two goals he scored – against Empoli and Udinese – we saw a similar pattern of a move down the left side and a lovely finish from a central area by RLC.

His quality allows Milan to be able to play more balls in many key areas of the pitch, with the potential to create scoring opportunities through disrupting the opponent’s defensive phase.

Loftus-Cheek admitted himself that he was at his best under Maurizio Sarri given he scored 13 goals in that full season under him, while in 2023-24 he has three goals and all were in away Serie A games (Cagliari, Empoli and Udinese).

However, he also won a penalty against Roma away from home and he provided an assist during the victory over Torino back in the second round of the season.

The words of Kevin-Prince Boateng have also reverberated around after he spoke so eloquently about the issue of racism in football, and also about Loftus-Cheek.

“Loftus-Cheek is very strong, he had already shown excellent things at Chelsea. Italy is perfect for Ruben, Serie A is missing a player with his qualities,” he said.

“He reminds me a bit of myself, but also Nainggolan. He’s a box-to-box player, he can score goals and assists, and he’s a warrior. He fits in this Milan well. But there’s only one like Prince Boateng!”