Alessandro Florenzi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are back in full training and ready to play again. They could be two ‘new signings’ for Sergio Conceicao.
As MilanNews recall, Florenzi was actually on the bench for the comeback win over Lecce after missing the entire season due to knee surgery. Things had started well for the Italian too given he scored in the first summer friendly against Rapid Vienna.
Having turned 34 years old yesterday, he is a true asset to the dressing room. Florenzi invited the entire team and staff to lunch for his birthday, but at Milanello. The group then spent a few more hours together in the training ground after this morning’s session.
With him at their disposal, Milan have an important wildcard, who can help Kyle Walker take a breather or possibly Theo Hernandez. The ex-Roma man can also act as a mezz’ala, his original role, in case Conceiçao tries a 4-3-3.
That is also a formation that would be perfect for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the victim of tactical misunderstandings at the start of the season, with Paulo Fonseca struggling to fit him into his playing system.
The Englishman has trained with the squad yesterday, an important signal in view of the match against Como, scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 18:30 at San Siro. He has played just 13 minutes under the current coach, in the Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter.
So far his season has been one to forget, but he can end it in the right way because he seems like a good fit for Conceicao’s physical and direct style. He could play as a box-to-box player in a three-man midfield, with Youssouf Fofana in the middle and Tijjani Reijnders on the left.
These last few months could be decisive for both of them also in terms of their future at the club. Florenzi has a contract expiring on June 30, and everything until recently suggested a farewell at the end of the season, with Como and Valencia having shown interest last summer.
urprisingly, however, a renewal for another season is being considered at lower economic conditions than the current ones (from €5.5m gross it would go down to €3m). This is precisely because of his importance in the dressing room and his usefulness for the squad lists as a homegrown player.
Much in this case will depend on the choice of the new sporting director, while in the case of Loftus-Cheek there is a contract in place until 2027, though the problems this season lead to thinking about a sale at the end of the year. The ex-Chelsea man still has several games to change the situation.
