Akram Jadid has been making waves in AC Milan’s youth academy, closing in on 600 goals for the club despite being just 14 years old. In short, a Francesco Camarda-esque story.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Ever since Camarda came through the youth ranks at Milan, scoring a plethora of goals along the way, many have been keeping a close eye on the Rossoneri’s academy players. Now, as highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport, a player with a similar calibre to Camarda is making great strides: Akram Jadid.
Keeping count of the scoring
597 goals. That’s the current tally of Jadid with the red and black shirt, showing that he can be decisive even when playing with the older teams, aged just 14 himself. Three years younger than Camarda, a player he shares a lot of similarities with.
“I admit that we started counting precisely for Camarda. The news of his 400-odd goals had come out, so we said to ourselves, why don’t we keep count too? I challenged him, saying ‘come on, let’s see what you can do’,” Jadid’s father Rachid said in an interview recently.
In the first year, he found the back of the net 232 times, while the bar was raised for the season after that. “That summer he told me: the goal for next season is 300, but I don’t want anyone to know,” his dad continued.
Promise kept, bagging an impressive 324 goals, though he was unable to build on that in the following season due to an injury. Only 9 goals to his name, but he made up for it in the 2024-25 season, scoring 32 goals in 32 games.
At the same age, Camarda had stopped at 22, the last one in the Scudetto final against Fiorentina. And Jadid? Well, the Scudetto will be discussed again next year, losing the semi-finals on aggregate against, you guessed it, Fiorentina.
Snubbing Inter for Milan
As if the goals weren’t enough to convince the Rossoneri fans, Jadid has also snubbed Inter in the past, as revealed by his father: “He played for Voluntas Montichiari, a club affiliated with the Nerazzurri. During the week, he trained in Brescia, then on the weekends we went to Milan.
“They [Inter] wanted to sign him, but then nothing came of it because Milan arrived. The head scout called me in 2018, asking if we were interested. I had known him for a long time, then Akram, as a fan, didn’t hesitate to say yes,” Rachid stated.
For seven years now, Jadid has commuted back and forth from Calcinato to Vismara, but in September he will move permanently to Milan. These days, he’s busy with his middle school exams, receiving good grades so far despite how much time and energy football takes up.
“For him, scoring goals is everything. He doesn’t care if he scores a decisive one in the 90th minute or the fifth in a game that is already over, the important thing is to score. He always celebrates a lot” Rachid continued.
Akram Jadid — He recently made his Milan U16 debut, which is two years above his age, I watched him play against Juventus, and despite being the youngest on the pitch, he brilliantly assisted the winning goal with a moment of genius. He is rising fast and hard
number 10 here 👇🏻 https://t.co/Qgmy9dwsZm pic.twitter.com/FE3zc3q5gZ
— Lionstalk (@lions_talk_) January 13, 2025
A sort of mini-Pippo Inzaghi, in other words, which certainly isn’t a bad label to get at the age of 14.
His style of play
Jadid is a true No.10 because he combines the pace of a No.11 with the killer instinct of a No.9. He’s fast, with great acceleration, and he can beat a man like few others at his age. He doesn’t take no for an answer.
So far, he has been used mainly as a winger in a 4-3-3 formation. High on the left, he has become more tidy and functional to the team’s game, especially in the non-possession phase, but burying him in tactical directives is not advised. Indeed, he’s at his best when left free to invent.
Hanging around the three-quarter line, he sees spaces that others don’t see, he tries plays without fear and most of the time he succeeds. One of the main secrets, without a doubt, is his ability with both feet. Whether he takes it on the right or the left makes little difference, the results are excellent.
In the meantime, Italy is watching and taking notes. In September, he will certainly be among the first on the list for the U15 National Team, the first at youth level, also because players like Jadid are rarely seen.