There wasn’t much to celebrate as AC Milan drew against Genoa to dampen the 125th birthday celebrations, but Alex Jimenez’s performance was a positive.
As Calciomercato.com recall, Mattia Liberali and Francesco Camarda were supported with chants and Jimenez himself received a lot of applause as the Futuro trio warmed up before last night’s game against the Rossoblu.
The Spaniard made senior debut this season at the most delicate moment and with a difficult task: the make fans forget about Theo Hernandez, who was relegated to the bench. He did it with an extraordinary personality and did not look out of place.
Jimenez was among the best – if not the best, as La Gazzetta dello Sport said – on the pitch for the Rossoneri. He combined well with Rafael Leao down that flank, went into every challenge with tenacity, got forward with his pace and made smart movements.
The 19-year-old got Vogliacco and Zanoli booked and it raises questions about how long he has been ready for. He could even play right-back given he is right-footed, given that among his main strengths is also tactical versatility.
This season Fonseca has often preferred Filippo Terracciano, a player who is certainly reliable but with a technical level that is certainly inferior to that of the Spaniard. Zlatan Ibrahimovic declared in preseason that Jimenez should be Theo’s deputy, and maybe the coach sees it now too.
The main issue was that he is to forward like Theo.
but if Milan tries 352 then Theo on left and Jimenez on right midfield is a interesting display. 442 is to crazy to play with them as defenders
Calabria/Emerson as RCB might not be the worst idea, since they are good at 1v1 but too slow and never catch their mark when pushed high up
Hey, some people here claim Emerson is quick! 😀 😀 😀
He showed his true pace yesterday a couple of occasions. I bet I could run faster now with the small tear with my ACL ATM.
Since you just became a Milan, apparently, let me fill you in on something about Leao: he is much less effective playing in the middle. So if your 3-5-2 scheme includes the sale of Leao, it may work. If it does not, then 3-5-2 won’t work for us. Furthermore, with Theo’s contract expiring in 2026 and with his current situation at the club, it seem very likely he will be departing soon, rendering a formation that relies on wingbacks, like 3-5-2, a little less relevant to us.
That’s the only gift from the unsung birthday match. We have proper and “could be” starter RB after El-Royale and Calaby.
He could probably play better than either Calabria or Emerson on the Right. That is if Theo gets his head out of his @$$.
This. Could be the answer at RB. Use him there more this season, and when Calabria leaves in the summer make him the starter with Royal as the backup.
I thought this was the plan from the get-go?
Play him at right back, then.
Fantastic to see and hear the support for the youngsters. Who, like Gattuso once said, “these kids need to know what it means to wear the badge”.
We had an even better young LB, Kerkez. Ballo Toure played in front of him…And Dalot
Sorry but who is Kerkez? Where is he now if je was that good?
What? You never heard of him? Try googling Milos Kerkez. He is playing in the Premier League since last season, starter for Bournemouth. He is that good, not was. 21 years old still. Milan had him but Pioli didn’t give him a chance even though he was the best player in Primavera by a 100 miles.
It’s a difficult case. How do you play him when you have prime Theo? Remember this was three seasons ago now. The one season he was with us is the season we won the title. Which games are you benching Theo in to give him time when chasing the title? Kerkez had zero patience. He’s extremely ambitious, good for him, but he wanted out after just one season while playing behind a player who was arguably considered one of the top 5 LBs in the world in that moment.
He is now in Man City’s orbit, so probably should’ve found a way to keep him and make it work, like Paqueta.
But that said, I guess they could have given him more looks. I dunno.
Doesn’t Real Madrid have a buy back close or something ? If yes then what’s the point of Jimenez ?
If he becomes the next Serginho, Real will ultimately buy him from us and we’ll have to start from scratch and if he ends up like an average player, well… we’ll be stuck with another average player.
The buyback is only active at June 2025 or 2026… And that is, only if Jimenez agree. If he don’t want to be back Real can’t force him.
They were probably trying to hide him, because Real can buy him back in June for 7mln or so