Fabrizio Romano is warming up his fingers for a long summer of transfer action.
One of the deals he’s got his teeth into already is Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s potential switch to AC Milan. Last week he reported that talks were going well and that the midfielder was happy with the idea of moving to Italy.
Today he checks in to say that talks “continue behind the scenes” and that RLC is a “top target” for the Italian club.
We’ve been curious about how they will afford him, but clearly something is being worked out. In the deal to sign Fikayo Tomori from us a few years back, we saw a loan move with a permanent purchase clause inserted, which the Italians eventually activated.
Talks continue behind the scenes for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to AC Milan. He’s top target for Milan, as revealed last week. 🔴⚫️ #ACMilan #CFC
Chelsea and Milan are discussing about the fee for permanent deal, no way for loan. RLC, keen on Serie A move. pic.twitter.com/OUE9TXQFOG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 23, 2023
That won’t be the case here, as Romano says there is “no way for a loan”, unsurprising given the midfielder only has a year left on his contract.
Instead, a knock down fee for a permanent move will be arranged. We’re still not keen on this deal. Ruben is home grown and versatile and seemingly happy to be a backup. We’d rather see us sign him to a new deal than go into the market to try and replace him.
But the wheels are in motion now, and this looks set to be one of the outgoing deals completed before the important June 30th FFP cutoff comes around.
A descriptor like “13 goal midfielder” is usually applied to a player (say, Frank Lampard) who has scored 13 goals THAT season, not one who has 13 for his WHOLE CAREER, lol! Maybe “versatile” would have sufficed!