Theo Hernandez is rightly regarded as one of the best full-backs in Europe, but this season he has been asked to perform a different role by Stefano Pioli.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes how after a mixed start to the season, Theo has found his form over the last month thanks to a handful of games played in the centre of the defence.
With Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori out, Theo tapped Pioli on the shoulder and held out his hand towards the team, taking on the responsibility of moving infield from his usual position.
Theo is one of those players who isn’t satisfied and an example is with the French national team where it took him years before establishing himself as one of Didier Deschamps’ starters.
Les Bleus ignored him for some time because of the attitudes he showed displayed during his youth years. Theo was never called up by the U21s, for example, making his first appearance for France only in 2021.
The desire to try his hand as a central defender also arises from an uncommon ambition: he wants to improve and be able to fill the gaps in his game.
In Europe, few can stand up to him: in the same role as him there is Alphonso Davies, all-rounder for Bayern and the Canadian national team. This year he has played 24 games without ever scoring.
Another couple to keep an eye on are Brighton’s Pervis Estupiñan and Bournemouth’s Miles Kerkez. The latter was a part of Milan’s youth team before moving to AZ Alkmaar and then on to England.
In Serie A, however, the comparison is all with Dimarco, who is experiencing a record year: so far he has scored three goals and provided six assists in all competitions. With Simone Inzaghi he plays as a wing-back though, so he has more freedom.
Theo has become more complete. In his seven games as a central defender he has learned to think more and to disengage when he is needed rather than roaming constantly as he was used to.
This year, thanks to Pioli’s ‘3+2’ build-up, he often moves centrally together with Davide Calabria and distributes the play. The assist for Rafael Leao against Atalanta – born playing in the middle – is the manifesto of his growth.
Theo recovered the ball, passed his man cleanly and then served the Portuguese winger and it was certainly a nod to what the pair can do when they are on the left side together.
Against Roma, again as a full-back, he fired in a rocket of a shot off the crossbar after taking advantage of Giroud’s backheel, making the run of a winger rather than a defender.
The data tells us that he is sixth-best defender for successful dribbles (15), second for shots on goal (8), fifth for key passes (21) and first among the Rossoneri for duels won (72). Now Theo can do everything.
Nice to see him on the wing again. Miss his pace and marauding runs there.