CorSport: Fonseca keen on reviving Loftus-Cheek as role remains undecided | OneFootball

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has struggled to blossom at the start of this season, yet to find the perfect role in Paulo Fonseca’s system. As highlighted by a newspaper this morning, one of the manager’s priorities is to get the Englishman going.

In the pre-season, Loftus-Cheek was used as a defensive midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 formation and relatively early, it became clear that it wasn’t the role for him. Since the start of the season, therefore, Fonseca has been trying to find the right role, shifting between midfield and attacking midfield.

As highlighted by today’s edition of Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews), Loftus-Cheek is thus the player who has paid the highest price for the managerial change. Under Stefano Pioli, he was almost a given as a No.10 and coincidentally also found the back of the net ten times.

This season, however, he has started ‘just’ eight out of 14 games and as seen on the pitch, he’s not entirely comfortable in his role. He failed to help his team against Cagliari last time out, and against Real Madrid, he missed a big opportunity inside the box.

Fonseca has admitted that more work is needed to find the perfect role for Loftus-Cheek, keen on working closely with the Englishman. However, the problem is that Milan currently have an in-form Christian Pulisic in the No.10 role, while Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders are untouchable in midfield.

Furthermore, Yunus Musah is starting to show his qualities more consistently, meaning the competition has increased. Fonseca will have more days to work with Loftus-Cheek during this break than others, so perhaps that will help.