Ruben Loftus Cheek

Playing Style

Having played under many managers Ruben Loftus Cheek has played in various roles but his best season came under Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea playing as a no.8 on the left side of the midfield three. Loftus Cheek is not someone who likes to see the ball a lot, he is someone who loves to make off the ball runs and act as a passing option. When playing under Chelsea, he would occupy the half spaces in the attacking half of the pitch while playing alongside Eden Hazard with whom he built a good bond.

Against Milan when he played in the midfield 2 in a 3-4-3, Ruben Loftus cheek acted more of the defensive midfielder while Kovacic was the Deep Lying playmaker. Under Potter and against Milan he was given the task to mark Charles De Keteleare. Loftus Cheek does not physically press players but he is tactically adept to cover passing lanes, a style of play Pioli uses. Standing tall at 1.91 metres he is able to use his rather long legs to reach for balls and recover them. He isn’t a tough tackler which makes him unsuited for a Defensive Midfielder role.

He rarely touches the wide areas and likes to say inside or the half spaces while operating as a passing option to players who are pressed wide by the opposition. Even though he is a very sizeable guy, his movements are silent and quick and this has given him the ability to make runs behind defenders into space. Using his tall frame he is able to receive kicks from the keeper or make defensive header although he isn’t very aerially very dominant. Trying to use his physicality means he draws a lot of fouls.

In terms of passing, he is usually someone who opts for the safest option. He tends to re-cycle possession and keep the ball in play.

Strengths

Physicality- Standing tall at 1.91 metres, Loftus Cheek has a very big frame and he uses this to get effect. Not easily pushed off the ball, Loftus Cheek uses his frame as a shield between the opposition player and the ball. His hold up play is also good which makes him draw a lot of fouls towards himself.

Tactically good at finding spaces- Loftus Cheek has a keen sense of finding spaces and this makes him a very good passing option for any player. Whether vertically or between the lines, Loftus cheeks likes to find pockets of space and attract press towards him freeing up more creative players to make forward runs.

Good with tight spaces and offensive runs- With a good first touch and decent close control, Loftus Cheek can help his team-mates escape the press and in-turn dribble forward or make the pass to avoid losing possession. He likes to make diagonal runs behind defenders into space and if the creative player can find him then it can lead to a dangerous situation.

Ball Carrying and Pace- Loftus Cheek has an ability to accelerate very quickly with or without the ball making him extremely useful during counter situation. As reflected via his numbers, Loftus Cheek is more of a dribbler than a passer and he carries the ball quite a lot of times.

Areas To Improve

Injuries and mentality- Having a start-stop career due to injuries Loftus Cheek has had his confidence affected a lot. A player that was confident on the ball, was looking over-cautious and not making runs behind the defense like he once used to.

Ability to be lost- As somebody who does not see the ball much, Loftus Cheek can get lost in the middle of a match and have no impact on the game

Defensive workrate- If RLC truly has to hit heights then he should improve his defensive workrate and cover more groundEnd product- For a player who plays an advanced role, Loftus-Cheeks’ best season had a 15 G+A season in 2018/19 but since then his numbers have been poor. One can attribute this to little gametime but he certainly has the quality to improve

Stats

Ruben Loftus Cheek in 2022/23 played 25 games in which he had 19 starts and 1536 minutes.

In terms of passing (all stats per 90 minutes) RLC attempts a total 46 passes with a passing accuracy 86.2%. He completes close to 1.05 passes into the penalty box.

As I have described, Loftus Cheek acts as a passing option whole Chelsea are trying to move into opposition box under pressure.  He averages 5.03 passes recieved in the opposition half of play which shows his usefulness to the sides progression.

In terms of Shot Creating Actions (SCA) and Goal Creating Actions (GCA), Loftus Cheek averages 2.11 SCA per game and 0.23 GCA per 90.

Defensively Loftus Cheek’s Takckles Won and Interceptioms average around 2.16 per game while winning 46% of his aerial duels.

Like I had explained Loftus-Cheeks’ style of play draws a lot of fouls. This can be seen in a way that he draws almost 2 fouls per game.

Finally he is an excellent ball carrier. His Ball progression per 90 while dribbling is 3.27 per game of which 1.7 is into the final 3rd of the pitch

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

Defensive actions- Tackles+Interceptions+Blocks per 90

Offensive actions- Progressive Carries+Progressive Passes+ Progressive passes received

As we can see here Ruben Loftus Cheek is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in terms of offensive actions. This would be a welcome change for Milan fans who have seen their side crumble or settle for draws against teams lower in the table and needing a spark from midfield with Bennacer or Tonali unable to provide it.

CONCLUSION

With moneyball taking effect Milan have embarked on yet another risky siege. Loftus Cheek is yet to prove himself but has been touted as a Rolls Royce football player. Given the talent pool of midfielders available at Milan with the departure of Tonali, Milan need not just starting players but good depth to manage the workload all season.

Transfer rating 7/10