Towards the end of the summer window, AC Milan decided to go for a one-out two-in change in the centre-back department.
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More specifically, Malick Thiaw was sold to Newcastle United for a fee widely reported to be €40m. Given Massimiliano Allegri’s use of a three-man defence, the decision was made to sign Koni De Winter and David Odogu to become the fourth and fifth choice central defenders.
Like a lot of aspects of Milan’s summer recruitment, things have come under the microscope in recent weeks with January looming. Speaking of which, if you are looking for something to do over the festive break, check out the DraftKings lines given the amount of American sporting events on during the festive period, like the NBA action.
A cold Winter
On Sunday, Milan drew at home against Sassuolo. Davide Bartesaghi’s first brace wasn’t enough, and the visitors took home a precious point thanks to Ismael Kone and Armand Laurente.
De Winter hasn’t yet stood out for the Rossoneri. The Belgian, who came on in the 60th minute to replace the injured Gabbia, didn’t have a good game. For the 2-2 goal, he was unable to stop Pinamonti, who easily passed to Lauriente for the assist.
In short, his contribution so far has been negative. Having arrived in the summer from Genoa, many were delighted with the acquisition, both for his price and his experience. So far, however, the club’s faith has not been repaid. On several occasions, the Belgian has appeared distracted and unable to handle the pressure of playing at San Siro.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened: on September 23rd against Lecce in the Coppa Italia, in his first start, he appeared disoriented, and even against an objectively modest opponent, he didn’t put in a great performance.
De Winter, therefore, still has a lot of growth to do. It’s difficult to understand what’s wrong with the 23-year-old, given that he looked solid at Genoa, he knows the league and he knows Allegri. Playing at a much bigger club is certainly not easy for anyone, but it’s also true that we’re almost at the halfway point of the season, so he should be adapting.
What does he need to improve? A key aspect is his focus, which he currently doesn’t seem to be able to sustain for the duration of the match. His work in possession is often quite sloppy, and a bit more grit is needed sometimes to challenge his man rather than stand-off, an accusation also levelled at Thiaw.
In short, De Winter’s development doesn’t seem to be going as expected and there’s still a lot of work to do. He will get a new opportunity on Thursday with Gabbia out injured, to prove that he can do it on the big stage. Otherwise, the January plans might well change his position in the hierarchy.