Loftus-Cheek talks faith in Fonseca, Chelsea difficulties and Ibrahimovic’s influence | OneFootball

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has insisted that the AC Milan squad ‘believe fully’ in head coach Paulo Fonseca, while also admitting that he wishes he would have had the courage to leave Chelsea sooner.

Loftus-Cheek is in line for another start tonight as Milan take on Venezia hoping to finally get a win on the board having gone three games without a victory to start the new era under Fonseca.

The English midfielder was one of Stefano Pioli’s most trusted players and that has extended under the Portuguese, given that he has started every game so far.

In an interview with Times Sport, Loftus-Cheek spoke about settling into a new life in Italy and the decision to leave Chelsea, and he began speaking about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s influence.

“He makes sure he gets that point across to us that we’re a big, prestigious club and the club wants to win, and he believes in us. So I think we need to give that energy back. We’re working hard to do so,” he said.

“He watches training, but also we have meetings with him. He wants to help the players as much as possible. If we have questions for him, he’s always there. So he’s very hands-on with the role, which is good to see because you see the care that he has for us and the club and how much he wants us to achieve and do well.

“He thinks I can score even more goals. So I need to focus on that. Mainly he wants me to be in and around the box scoring more goals.”

The Rossoneri have stuttered under new coach Fonseca with just two points from a possible nine, but RLC is not panicking and he assured fans that the manager’s methods are being learned.

“We all believe fully in the manager. In training we’re working every day. But I think in the moment when things are not going so well, you have to take a step back. Because sometimes it can feel like it’s all coming down,” the ex-Chelsea man said.

“Fans want to win, also we want to win. But we have to take a look at the big picture. We have a new manager, we need time to learn his ways and get things right. And I think when we do that, we’ll be winning. I think we just need to work as much as we can on the pitch and keep believing. And things will come together.”

Having come through the academy at Chelsea, it was last year that Loftus-Cheek decided to finally take the leap and try a new experience outside England, something that he does not regret.

“The fans always took to the home-grown players when we were coming through. You felt the support from them. But I think there’s two sides to football. There’s the entertainment side and a business side.

“And I think sometimes when you have a home-grown player coming through, if you’re at a club that has the means to go and buy a fully-fledged player in their prime to bring in for millions, then the club wants to win and I think it’s easy to do that for them rather than to play a home-grown player.

“Being at Chelsea coming through, that was the case. It was very difficult to play a lot of football. Even though you’re very talented, Chelsea can bring in another player who’s in their prime, just ready to go for millions. It is difficult as a young player coming through. But I think if the club has a way of liking and pushing home-grown players through, I think it can be easy.

“I think if you’re a youngster, seven or eight years old, and you’ve signed with Chelsea, fantastic. Because it’s a great academy. And you’ll learn how to play football. And you’ll develop your skills there. And a great coach is coaching you.

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“But it gets to a point, maybe at 15, 16, where you’re getting to that stage where it’s youth-team football. And you might want to start thinking about going and playing somewhere else. Because it’s very difficult now to just go straight through.

“And the best way to develop is by playing games and playing men’s football. And it’s easier to do that somewhere else at a lower club. And I feel like that’s what I missed out on, I think.”

So, if he had his time again, would he make that switch at 15 or 16 and leave Chelsea? “Yes.”

He and his Milan teammate Fikayo Tomori were barely called up by Gareth Southgate but the interim manager Lee Carsley gives them a new man to impress.

“If he wants to phone me, he’s welcome to. But I’ve got much more important things to focus on at the club at the minute. I haven’t been in the set-up for a while, but if I’m able to play well enough to get a chance to play for England, then that’s great.”

The 28-year-old was also asked about what the differences are between playing in the Premier League versus Serie A, given its reputation as a more tactical league.

“Teams are very clued up defensively and tactically. Sometimes you can get quite slow and you have to build up patiently, whereas in the Premier League it’s very fast and furious. You may get more counterattacks and more open spaces in the Premier League. They are very different styles of play.”