Carlo Cudicini is delighted Ruben Loftus-Cheek is doing well at Milan but reveals ‘you could see smoke coming out of his head’ when the English midfielder first met Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
Cudicini is Chelsea’s loan player technical coach and a former Milan goalkeeper, so Tuttosport newspaper interviewed him on Wednesday to know more about Loftus-Cheek’s time with the Blues.
“At Milan, he found trust, he plays in a role that he loves and he feels more responsibility, reacting in the right way. He is a leader at Milan,” said the former Italian keeper in an interview published on page 13.
“It’s never easy for English players who move abroad, there aren’t many who succeed. I’ve always been confident that his technique and physicality would bring him far away. He didn’t score many goals in the past, which was his weak point. This season, he has already scored five times and delivered some assists. That’s how he can make the difference.”
What didn’t work for him at Chelsea?
“His physicality caught the eye. He was always among the tallest players in the Academy, but he also had great technique, which is not always natural,” noted Cudicini.
“This is why he was one of the best Academy players, which allowed him to make his senior debut quite early. However, he had highs and lows also due to some physical problems; this is what affected him most. He also suffered an Achilles injury, which was a huge setback. I can imagine that his target was to become an important player for Chelsea, I am sure he loves the Blues.”
Loftus-Cheek made 115 appearances with Chelsea, scoring 13 goals. He played under two Italian coaches at Stamford Bridge, Maurizio Sarri and Conte.
The latter has been linked with the Milan job for next season and Cudicini revealed a funny meeting between the Italian tactician and RLC in 2016.
“When Conte arrived, he wanted to meet all the players in the pre-season. In the meeting with Ruben, he summarily explained how he wanted to play and where he saw him.
“However, after 20 minutes, you could see smoke coming out of Loftus-Cheek’s head. Tactics are important for Italians. In England, it counts, but it’s different. Ruben was 20 and was a promising player and Conte wanted to involve him.”
Milan-born Cudicini is a product of the Rossoneri Academy, but never made his senior debut with the Serie A giants, while he played 216 games across ten years at Chelsea.