Luka Modric can play in multiple roles as his illustrious career has shown, but Massimiliano Allegri may already have a position in mind.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Modric can be decisive in every position. However, Milan are waiting for him and are thinking about where to play him next season. There is news on the horizon: Modric, in Allegri’s Milan, should also play as a regista.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
That means he will be the central midfielder in a 4-3-3, a position he has rarely played in in his career. Indeed, if Milan play with a 4-3-3, that’s where we’ll see Modric most often: this are the initial idea in view of the new season.
What Modric will bring
Luka played mainly as a mezzala in a 4-3-3 at Real Madrid. The midfield with Casemiro in front of the defence and Toni Kroos on the other prong made history. Modric controlled the game there, raising the quality of each possession and making the difference in the attacking midfield with his assists.
At 40, however, things could change and the regista position could help both him and Milan. Luka would have the ball at his feet even more, Milan would rediscover the quality lost with the farewell of Tijjani Reijnders. Alongside him, Allegri could field two more physical players, who cover ground.
How is Modric? He’s fine, he hasn’t had any injuries last season and the (a lot) of work on prevention is paying off. He’s currently at the Club World Cup with Real Madrid and, in his debut against Al Hilal, he played a few minutes at the end.
If nothing changes, it should be the last act of his time with Los Blancos. Luka and Milan have reached an agreement for next season, a one-year deal with an option for a second year. That agreement has never been made official so we’ll have to wait.
The idea is that Modric will take a break at the end of the season and join Milan during preseason. In Italy he can be a starter or a key player during the match, because with only one match per week the issue of managing minutes doesn’t feel as pressing.
Modric has played in all midfield positions in his career. With Croatia he is one of the two in the double pivot and has often been in tandem with his good friend Mateo Kovacic. In his club career he has been a mezzala and an attacking midfielder, in two and three-man systems.
With him, ultimately, the team structure changes little. Modric reads the situations, controls the ball with technique, finds spaces and tries to create new ones. In addition, he manages to be a leader, the first reason why Igli Tare called him as soon as he settled in Casa Milan.
If that’s the case, it means we need 2 strong midfielders in front of him, who will take care of the defensive job while giving him the job of passing the ball forward; my guess it’s going to be Fofana and Xhaka if we get him. Now of course we need players to rotate with both of them, since Fofana risks being overused and Xhaka is not young anymore. Maybe we should keep Bondo and see if he can fill that job.
Now since Modrić is probably not going to play entire games or start every game, we will probably need another regista type of player, maybe creative fullbacks or switch to another system.
Love this. Ideally we could get Rovella to be Modrics backup, and Ricci to b Xhakas. Terracciano/Bondo as Fofanas backup and we are set.
Sell RLC, Musah, Adli, Pobega and Benna
Adli can be useful if he’s used as a regista as well, he has really great passing abilities, and pretty press resistant. If theirs gonna be two physical players beside him it’ll take of the defensive burden from him, which he’s not great at.
Milan must sign Guerra and Bouaddi. Bondo should be loaned out or sold. Allegri will keep Ruben Loftus Cheek because of his physicality and his ability to get into the box to score goals.
I don’t see Musah, Bondo, Pobega, Bennacer and Adli as part of this new Milan midfield.
It should be starting midfield xhaka, Modric, Guerra. Bench: Fofana, Bouaddi and RLC.
I can see Bennacer 💯 in that midfield.
You guys must be really underating this player.
Xhaka could play with Modric and Fofana.
Bennacer being a supersub with RLC, or Adli could be great.
Trying Bennacer with them, if he flourishes, can be worth more than the 12 million or less we’d receive for selling him. It would cost less than replacing him if he finds his way with these players. He did well when we had Kessie and Tonali. He didn’t have as much pressure on him and Krunic filled in when needed. I see him as an ideal number 3, rotating with the 4, not our constant go to guy. He never did well as such for us. I think it puts him under less duress, he’d be less of a focal point for coverage, hence it should help keep him healthier, more efficient.
No Man sorry I think his knee injury has taken his signature move that made him special seasons ago… Isma prior to injury is magnificent…
Bennacer? Stop living in the past.
Max is living in the past. Actually he values the mythical experience more than current form and the real league requirements. We saw that during his second tenure in Juve.