Ruben Loftus-Cheek being overlooked for England does not make sense

“What’s Milan like?” Ruben Loftus-Cheek asked Fikayo Tomori. It was in an international window and when Tomori got the text from his old friend and team-mate, he thought Loftus-Cheek was planning a city break.

The anecdote they shared during pre-season in Los Angeles last summer was revealing for two reasons.

First, it showed the long-standing nature of AC Milan’s interest. Loftus-Cheek’s text to Tomori was sent “early” in the club game’s off-season. So early Tomori didn’t suspect a reunion was on the cards with a player with whom he came through Chelsea’s academy. Second, the timing of their correspondence made it clear neither had been called up by England for their June matches against Malta and North Macedonia.

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Both were overlooked again by England last week ahead of the Euros in the summer and while defender Tomori had only returned from injury in the 10 days leading up to the squad being named for friendlies against Brazil tomorrow (Saturday) and Belgium on Tuesday, midfielder Loftus-Cheek’s continued absence came as a surprise in Italy.

Earlier in the season, England manager Gareth Southgate could be excused for waiting and seeing whether the now 28-year-old could back up his immediate impact at Milan — he set up Christian Pulisic’s opener against Torino in the second league game of the season, won a penalty at Roma in the third and scored his first goal, a long-range screamer at Cagliari, in the sixth — but now it is far harder to justify.

Since the turn of the year, Loftus-Cheek has arguably been in the form of his life.

When the award for Serie A’s midfielder of the season is handed out in May, Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu and Teun Koopmeiners of Atalanta are likely to be the favourites. But Loftus-Cheek has given himself a chance with eight goals in 2024 alone. It’s almost as if there’s a major tournament on the horizon.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli believes Loftus-Cheek has been exceeding expectations.

“We came up against him in the Champions League last season,” he recalled — Graham Potter, Chelsea’s manager at the time, played Loftus-Cheek as a No 6 in a 3-0 home win at Stamford Bridge in the October. “I looked at him as more of a box-to-box player, but I didn’t see him being such a big player for us in the opposition penalty area with this much quality and physicality.”

He has reminded Pioli of a player he trained during his spell as Lazio coach from 2014 to 2016 — Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who went on to be voted Serie A midfielder of the year for the 2018-19 season, and who that club’s owner, Claudio Lotito, once priced out of a move to Europe’s elite with a valuation in excess of €100million (£85.7m; $109.1m at current exchange rates). The 29-year-old Serbia international, who has been one of the best signings of the Saudi Pro League’s extravagant 2023 summer with…