Chelsea midfielder one step from securing move from boyhood club, with UCL side ‘optimistic’

AC Milan are reportedly close to agreeing terms with Ruben Loftus-Cheek over a long-term contract, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

With a squad the size of Chelsea’s, it seems hard for any player to maintain a consistent role. Indeed, they have brought 16 players to Stamford Bridge over the past two transfer windows.

While some quality players have walked through the door, the swell of the squad gives grounds to suggest why they’ve been so poor.

It cannot be easy for a manager to identify what his best side is when there are so many players to choose from. The sheer amount of players surely made for a lot of difficult decisions for any of the managers who led Chelsea this season.

As such, for any player to have a consistent role was an achievement in itself.

Loftus-Cheek was the 13th-most-used player in terms of minutes played for the Blues this season. While that doesn’t suggest he played a massive role, he was called upon relatively often.

He’s grown as a Chelsea player over the past couple of seasons. The Englishman made 25 Premier League appearances this term, following 24 last season – the former equating to the most league minutes he’s played in a Blues shirt in a season.

However, it’s looked likely of late that he’ll be moved on by his boyhood club. After AC Milan had been credited with interest for a while, recently it was reported they’d opened talks over the move.

Loftus-Cheek closing in on AC Milan move

Those talks have seemingly gone well, as he looks close to making the move. Indeed, transfer insider Romano has reported Milan are ‘close to agreeing terms’ with the midfielder.

It’s suggested the move will see Loftus-Cheek sign a ‘long-term contract’, thought there’s no indication of exactly how long it’ll be.

Romano continues to say that talks between the two clubs are ‘ongoing to reach a full agreement in fee’. Indeed, that’s the final step, as personal terms seem close to being sorted.

The insider also suggests all parties are ‘hopeful and optimistic’ over the move.

Leaving Chelsea the right move

While he’s played the most minutes of his Chelsea career this season, the move seems the right one for Loftus-Cheek. He’s only started to be used more over the last couple of seasons, and he’s 27 years of age.

He’ll be reaching his prime soon, if he’s not already in it, and if he’s not playing consistently now, he never will. The move makes sense for Chelsea, too.

While there is no indication of what the transfer fee will be, they can’t be in a great position financially after their massive outlay the past couple of seasons. As such, receiving any fee and getting a wage off the books seems smart.

Doing so with a few players will allow a good starting point for new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The boss will surely want to make some changes to a side than finished 12th last season, and sending some players away will allow him to bring more in.

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