Allegri proven right as Saelemaekers adds ‘compromise’ to Milan’s right flank

Alexis Saelemaekers has started the pre-season well and why Massimiliano Allegri was so keen on keeping him is becoming clear. On the right flank, he complements Christian Pulisic well. 

While there has been a lot of talk about the left-wing position this summer, and more specifically Rafael Leao, there have been some exciting developments on the right as well. Following the loan spells at Bologna and Roma, Allegri decided to block any additional transfer for Saelemaekers.

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Thanks to his versatility and hard-working mentality, the Belgian caught the attention of the head coach and this trust has become clear during pre-season so far. Against both Arsenal and Liverpool, Saelemaekers played from the first minute.

So, aside from the obvious (the aforementioned factors), why was Allegri so keen on keeping the 26-year-old for this upcoming season? The get the answer to that question, we have to look at the full picture and not just his traits.

Pulisic and Saelemaekers cover all bases

As our writer Rohit Rajeev highlighted on social media, Saelemaekers has been very successful especially in the defensive phase. It might sound strange given that he wasn’t brilliant in that sense against Arsenal and Liverpool, but sometimes his qualities aren’t always easy to identify.

Getting dribbled past, for example, will obviously be noticed immediately but the same cannot always be said for smart positioning and interceptions. If you often find yourself in the right position, defensive actions tend to look easy and thus, they don’t always get the praise they deserve.

Indeed, while the attacking differences with someone like Pulisic are clear to see in the image below, Saelemaekers is better than the American when it comes to tackles, recoveries and interceptions. As you can probably tell by now, the two players complement each other nicely.

The formation will obviously be a deciding factor for next season, especially with regards to the above, as playing with wing-backs would allow Saelemaekers and Pulisic to co-exist. With four at the back, however, Allegri would have to choose between the two based on the opponents.

None of the above is ultimately bad, as you need to be covered for as many scenarios as possible, and this could actually be one of the main differences compared to previous seasons. Before Pulisic joined, for example, the general consensus was that Milan lacked a prolific player on the right.

And when strange experiments were made last season, such as playing Yunus Musah in an advanced right-wing role, the general consensus was that the Rossoneri were too defensive. Having someone who’s in between, as a compromise, which Saelemaekers clearly is, can thus be very useful.

At this point, it should also be noted that Saelemaekers has played quite a lot on the left-hand side as well. The feeling is that he won’t be doing that as much this season, but it’s an option which once again highlights the versatility that Allegri appreciates so much.

Encouraging signs so far

Characteristics and stats aside for a second, how has Saelemaekers actually performed so far? The sample size is obviously very small, especially since Milan didn’t attack much against Arsenal, but it would be wrong to say that we can’t make any conclusions.

Against the Gunners, the winger received the following comment along with his 5.5/10 rating, which isn’t considered a pass: “He was good at the start, especially when going forward, and had a good cross for Bartesaghi. However, he squandered a decent chance (sending his shot way above the bar) and was easily beaten in defence on a couple of occasions.”

Against Liverpool, however, it was a different story with a 6.5/10 rating: “You can see why he was so successful at Roma and why Allegri wanted to keep him. The movement makes a big difference and his ability to combine with his teammates is impressive. Great assist for Okafor too, but for a higher rating, he would have needed to stand his ground a bit more in defence.”

Considering that the main negative takes here have been about his defending, does Saelemaekers really offer a compromise as the title suggests? I believe yes, still, as he has a lot more experience than Pulisic with defensive tasks. Not to say that Pulisic is bad, on the contrary, just not as good.

Furthermore, Milan obviously don’t want Pulisic in defensive positions as it would be a waste, given what he adds in the final third. With Saelemaekers, however, it feels a lot more natural and it suits his playing style more.

Nominal costs on the accounts

Finally, the importance of his low costs on the accounts cannot be overstated. Milan signed him when he was still relatively unknown, with the deal costing around €7.5m, and now there have been suggestions of a €25m+ price tag.

The low transfer fee means Milan pay very little in amortisation every year, around €800k per year, and the salary is still very low at €1m net (€1.31m gross). At least there haven’t been any news updates on the salary lately, so we have to assume that is what he earns.

It goes without saying that you can’t find another player with his qualities for such a low annual cost. Samuele Ricci, for example, was signed for ‘just’ €23m but costs Milan a total of €9.45m between the amortisation and salary. So, any new winger would likely cost the same, if not more.

That’s probably why the Rossoneri were so willing to accept Allegri’s request, even if a sale would have generated a significant capital gain. Sometimes, you have to think long-term and keeping Saelemaekers is a very good example of that.