AC Milan went back to the Club Brugge well in their search of a difference-maker in the middle of the park, landing Ardon Jashari.
It felt as though the Charles De Ketelaere saga would be the last bit of business Milan did with the Belgian side for some time, or at least it would have to be someone very special for the management to sit around the negotiating table again with their Brugge counterparts.
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Jashari was that someone special, and after another long ordeal the Rossoneri agreed to wire an amount comfortably over €30m to the Blauw-Zwart to snatch their latest jewel. This time it had to be different, right?
Well, if you were to ask one hundred Milanisti to describe what they have seen so far from Jashari in one word, we expect that the word ‘special’ would not pop up very much. Instead, the adjectives would probably range somewhere between ‘talented’ and ‘troubled’. So, how is year one going?
A fluctuating adaptation
Some growing pains were to be expected for Jashari given his age, the fact he arrived from the Belgian league (which is very different tactically to Serie A) and the fact that he would not even have a guaranteed starting position.
Jashari seemed like being the statement signing to help the post-Reijnders rebuild, and yet by the time the summer window closed, he found himself jostling with the likes of Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot, Youssouf Fofana and Samuele Ricci.
The injury really did not help the settling in process, and more on that is to come, but the idea was probably always that the first season would be about learning behind Modric, one of the best to ever play the role of midfield metronome.
Fast forward to the present day, when we should really be starting to see the Swiss gear up even after the time he spent out, and instead we are left with one of many enigmatic profiles in the squad that Allegri has given the impression of not fully trusting just yet.
Jashari still only has nine Serie A appearances to his name, for a total of 459 minutes. After making his return on December 28, playing 20 minutes off the bench having been an unused substitute in the previous six games, it has been a strange story since.
The 23-year-old was then an unused substitute another twice, before starting and playing 60 minutes against Fiorentina away, four minutes against Como away, and 87 minutes in another start at home to Lecce.
He was an unused sub versus Roma at the Olimpico, then got 18 minutes in the 3-0 thumping of Bologna, before going back to being sat on the bench for the entire game as the Rossoneri squeezed past Pisa.
Then came the upturn: a very impressive home start against Como had everyone feeling like Jashari had finally arrived and announced himself with an all-action performance that Modric himself appeared proud of alongside him.
Allegri rewarded him with another start against Parma in the shock 1-0 home defeat. Then, another two games spent entirely on the bench (vs. Cremonese and Inter), before we get to the most recent pendulum swing: playing the entire game versus Lazio.
We have already written extensively about Allegri’s selection habits and how he is not one for rewarding recent form over his tactical convictions for any given game. He has certainly shown that with his midfield decisions at times this season.
Perhaps it is also a way of ‘drip feeding’ Jashari, to protect the players and to allow him to fully settle into the rhythm of Italian football without feeling the pressure of having to turn in multiple consecutive dominant performances in the middle of the park. After all, Allegri is a master at man-management in that way.
What is equally strange in terms of trend though is the results Milan have had in Jashari’s 12 appearances across all competitions. There are five wins (vs. Bari in the Coppa Italia, plus Verona, Como, Lecce and Bologna), but two draws (Fiorentina and Como) and five defeats (Cremonese, Lazio in the Coppa, Napoli in the Supercoppa, Parma and Lazio).
A lot has been written this season about Milan’s over-dependency on Adrien Rabiot, given that without the Frenchman the points per game average drops from 2.42 to 1.40. The unfortunate flip side to that is it means that the average isn’t great when Jashari (or Ricci) starts in his place.
Within these mixed results have been mixed performances. The amount of games in which Jashari has taken a grip on proceedings like that start against Como is sadly outnumbered by the amount where he has appeared understandably timid and has slumped into anonymity.
The mitigating circumstances
Let’s face it, Ardon Jashari certainly has a lot of things that he can point to in terms of things that haven’t really helped his adaptation.
The first and the biggest blow came at the end of August and in training, when a collision with Santiago Gimenez left the midfielder with a fractured fibula. It was a compound fracture too, but it requires less time to recover from than a ligament tear, for example.
Nonetheless, Jashari went from seeing the bright lights of San Siro to being set in a hospital bed for a few weeks. He was out of action for several months as a result of the fracture, and this understandably significantly affected his preparation.
He hadn’t had an ideal preseason as it was given the tug-of-war in the negotiations between Brugge and Milan, which led to him being in and out of training and friendly games. That state of limbo cannot make it easy to hit the ground running in an entirely new environment, before factoring in such an injury just as things really get going.
Then there is the aforementioned question of role. By his own admission the former Luzern talent can play two roles. He can either operate as a No.6 at the base of the midfield, dictating the play and being the build-up pivot. Or, he can play as a No.8 shuttling box-to-box, with his energy, physicality and dynamism.
He has had to do more of the latter because of Modric’s presence, though tactically they have tended to slot into a double pivot when they have co-existed to free the third midfielder (usually Fofana). It was in that configuration that his best start came against Como.
Speaking of which, that particular game is what gives us huge hope that the diamond is there to be polished. Against the Lariani, Jashari had a ridiculous 97% pass completion as well as 3 chances created, 10 passes into final third, 6/6 on long balls, 4 recoveries, 2 tackles and that 1 gorgeous assist.
It was an almost complete midfield performance, to the extent that he outshone Modric. He hadn’t hit those heights before in terms of individual display and he has not since, but it’s in there somewhere and will hopefully be seen clearly in season two.
If Modric hangs up his boots, will Ardon slide over to become the new orchestrator? That is a question that Allegri will already be forming the answer to in his mind. Of course, this does not mean all is lost either, far from it. From teething troubles can come some very strong jaws. Ask Sandro Tonali.
Remember when Tonali sucked so bad his first season he had to take a pay cut? The bias against non Italian players is real and seems pretty weird
Breaking his leg in the beginning of the season and now being played out of position.
We have players playing out of position all over the field from Pulišić and Leao to Jashari, Ricci and Bartesaghi. Even Fofana complained a couple of days ago he’s not comfortable in his role and it could cost him is spot at WC.
A very foolish article, and been critical for a player who barely plays while questions are not ask of why he isn’t playing regularly to gear up with the team. Ricci has had more minutes and hasn’t had as much impact as Jashari, but Ricci is Italian so run the other kid down.
If it’s over-critical in your eyes to point out and subsequently explain difficulties, I’m not sure the internet is a great place for you.
Which impact? You mean the games we lost with him in the team? Amazing. The text literary says or Ricci?
Ardon isn’t seeing a lot of consistency in minutes played. That would make it tough for any footballer to find any sort of rhythm. Tough to judge him based on this season.
I said it before, but I feel having Modric always start deters Jashari’s development into an eventual starter, especially the longer Modric stays. That’s not to say Modric doesn’t deserve it – he has been stellar beyond his years. But he occupies Jashari’s natural habitat.
Jashari isn’t as good box-to-box as we have seen so far. So either he needs more minutes as one or more minutes in the 6 in place of Modric (however unlikely that may be). Maybe next year with Europe to contend with Allegri would rotate the Croat and the Swiss. Or at the very least play him more often as a b2b.
But where does that leave Ricci? I’m guessing Fofana and RLC would be moved on from.
Agreed. He needs a couple of seasons before being able to consistently deliver high level performances. At 23 though, waiting until he is 25 to develop with a lack of consistent starts is delusional. These are pivotal and crucial years in the stage of his career. They need to play him next year or loan him to a midtable club who will. He cannot be a bitpart player 2 seasons in a row. Had we signed him at 20, or 21, the conversation would be different and he would have more integration time.
maybe because we crashed out the Italian cup too soon.. for some reason I believed that playing ardon and ricci in the Italian cup will give them more playing time to settle in the new team. with only the league left and the target is UCL, I understand if the mister don’t want to gamble.
They shouldn’t have bought him, completely wrong buy. If you get Modric you buy a 18-20 year old talent and he gets some game time and you develop him to be a starter at 21. Jashari 23, not yet good enough for Italy, 40M€. Really bad deal for Milan.
For me even 100ml I won’t sell jashari
Maignan rabiot jashari pulisic main guys all other players can be replaced
Yes, Jashari irreplaceable, but not Rabiot. 😭😭