Owen Hargreaves heaps praise on Ruben Loftus-Cheek after the former Chelsea midfielder nets twice for AC Milan in the Europa League… and advises EVERY player spend some time abroad away from Premier League ‘scrutiny’

Owen Hargreaves lauded Ruben Loftus-Cheek‘s decision to move away from Chelsea after the midfielder struck twice in AC Milan‘s Europa League play-off tie against Rennes on Thursday evening. 

The 28-year-old Blues academy graduate left his boyhood club after 19 years as part of the summer exodus from Stamford Bridge which saw a number of former first-team starters sold to offset the club’s mammoth transfer window spending. 

Loftus-Cheek has settled quickly in Milan and become a regular fixture under Stefano Pioli alongside fellow ex-Chelsea stars Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic, and Fikayo Tomori. 

The midfielder has netted seven times across all competitions, registering an additional two assists in Serie A, and Thursday night’s brace saw him become the first Rossoneri to score twice in a European knockout game since Kaka in 2007. 

After the final whistle, Hargreaves not only described Loftus-Cheek as a ‘good fit’ at the San Siro, but wondered whether the player might even wish he had moved abroad sooner. 

The England international netted his fifth and sixth goals in eight games on Thursday night

Owen Hargreaves lauded Loftus-Cheek’s decision to continue his career abroad away from the scrutiny of playing for his boyhood club

‘Just looking at it, I can’t believe Ruben Loftus-Cheek is 28 already,’ Hargreaves said on duty for TNT Sports. ‘I know he’s always been a star as a young man but he probably should have made this move (abroad) a little bit sooner.

‘He’s such a talented guy. Probably played a little bit deeper at times. This is where he’s at his absolute best, arriving in the box with his size. He’s a good header of the ball. He’s got goals in him.

‘It shows he’s in a really good place, in a team that plays to his strengths. And he’s scoring goals. That one…