Luka Romero found himself as the third-choice right winger at the start of the season, but tomorrow night against Udinese he is expected to get his first start of the season.
As Calciomercato.com recall, Romero was given 21 minutes off the bench in the victory over Cagliari and that was the only playing time he got in the first eight rounds of the season. Then, after the last international break, he came on against Juventus and played the entire second half against Napoli.
It is an increase in use dictated also by the injury emergency that Milan are experiencing: Samuel Chukwueze was injured with his national team and is still working on his recovery, in addition to the problem suffered by Christian Pulisic at the Maradona.
Romero remains the only natural right winger left, and the fact he is not in the UEFA squad list means he is a prime candidate to start from the first minute against Udinese on Saturday evening at San Siro in what would be his first for the Rossoneri.
Pioli can also evaluate alternative solutions such as moving Noah Okafor to the right or moving Yunus Musah up the forward line, but the impossibility of using Romero in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain calls for more in-depth reflections.
It will be another important chance for Romero also in terms of the future, with the winter transfer window getting ever closer. Until a few weeks ago, neither the management nor Pioli took into consideration the possibility of letting Romero leave, a line also motivated by Chukwueze’s departure with Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations which will keep him busy for the month of January.
Of course, the parties will evaluate over the next few weeks what is the best strategy to help a player who arrived in the summer on a free transfer and at the moment appears not ready for a stage like Milan. It is no coincidence that in recent days they have also begun to contemplate the possibility of loaning out Romero to allow him to find continuity in the second half of the season.
The crossroads is approaching, as is the match against Udinese: a chance for the Argentine, for the present and for the future.
There was a drastic drop off in quality when Pulisic came off for Romero. I’m guessing Udine will sit deep and defend so I’m not sure how effective Romero will be.