Brahim Diaz is the man who has taken most of the headlines after AC Milan beat Spurs at San Siro last night, and it could have implications regarding his future.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how last night was déja vù of the 2-0 Serie A win against Juventus back in early October. In that game Stefano Pioli decided to play a 4-3-3 that saw Brahim and Rafael Leao flank Olivier Giroud, and the Spaniard was decisive then just as he was last night.
It took less than six minutes for the 23-year-old to open the scoring and illuminate the over 74,000 fans at San Siro last night, and the feeling is that the playmaker has an invaluable value because it could really be that spark capable of restarting the stuck engine in the attacking department.
It is not only his goal that deserves credit though. Diaz showed a willingness to drop deeper and do dirty work when defending the lead, which meant he gave a big hand to Sandro Tonali and Rade Krunic to suffocate Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr.
Similar performances from Brahim between now and the end of the season could make a difference in the fight for a top four finish and for the Champions League quarter-finals and will also help his position in view of June, when Milan and Real Madrid will meet to discuss his future.
Brahim has already made it abundantly clear that his aim is to stay at Milanello, but he has a €22m option to buy (with buy-back at €27m in Real’s favour), which Milan management will try to bring below €20m and satisfy Stefano Pioli who would like to keep him.
