AC Milan impressed by Chelsea midfielder’s performance in San Siro clash

Graham Potter’s strong start to life as Chelsea manager continued on Tuesday, as The Blues beat AC Milan 2-0 to move top of Group E of the Champions League. 

Potter has now won four and drawn one of his games in charge of the club, keeping three clean sheets in a row.

Chelsea undoubtedly benefitted from a red card shown to ex-Blue Fikayo Tomori early on in the first-half, with the defender penalised for a foul on former teammate Mason Mount, who also won a penalty in the process.

Despite the result, it appears that Chelsea’s performance may have alerted their opponents to the ability of one of Potter’s players.

As reported by Italian outlet Calciomercato via TheHardTackle, the Serie A champions have been impressed by the form of Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The Englishman was substituted on with just under 30 minutes remaining on Tuesday, but he played the entire 90 minutes during the reverse fixture last week.

The report claims that the Italian side have taken notice not only of the midfielder’s performance on Tuesday, but also his form of late.

Loftus-Cheek, 26, is enjoying arguably his best period of form as a Chelsea player at present, having missed only one game so far this term.

Loftus-Cheek has less than two years remaining on his current deal

It is claimed that Milan are lining up Loftus-Cheek as a potential replacement for Franck Kessie, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer over the summer.

The England international’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2024, and Milan could attempt to sign the player at the end of the current season.

Chelsea would be reluctant to lose the player for free at the end of his contract, and may therefore opt to sell him next summer if he appears unlikely to sign an extension.

Since graduating from the club’s Cobham academy, the midfielder has struggled for consistency.

He has spent time on loan at Crystal Palace and Fulham, either side of a superb 2019/19 campaign under Mauzirio Sarri.

An injury suffered during a mid-season friendly in 2019 appeared to hinder his progress, though.

Last season he became a regular under former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel, making a total of 40 appearances over the course of the campaign and playing in a number of positions including centre-back and wing-back, as well as his more natural central midfield role.

In total, Loftus-Cheek has scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists in 133 games for The Blues.