Samu Castillejo put a difficult recent period behind him and produced an excellent impact off the bench in the 3-2 win over Hellas Verona last night.
At the end of the game he did not hold back tears as he was overwhelmed by the affection of his team-mates after what has been far from an easy time for him over the past few months. Stefano Pioli also ran to hug him while clapping his hands, which is fitting praise for what was a big impact.
Calciomercato.com writes that Castillejo seemed destined to leave during the summer window out as he was left out of the UEFA squad list amid strong links with an exit. In his second appearance of the season, Castillejo entered the field with a fierce determination and earned the first encouragement with two recoveries of 40 metres.
He won the penalty kick that made it 2-2 and propitiated the sensational own goal by Gunter. In the summer the 27-year-old refused all the offers he received, from CSKA Moscow to Real Sociedad, because he strongly wants to carry on at Milan. He is very attached to the shirt and his future could yet change.