AC Milan and Chelsea have done plenty of business over the pas few years and there seems to be a consistent theme, one that benefits the former rather than the latter.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic have shared common roads, either traveled together or a few months apart. The meeting point is the Rossoneri rebirth, given that the pillars of today’s Milan arrived from Chelsea and were reborn at San Siro thanks to the touch of Stefano Pioli.
Thanks to a newfound confidence and the desire to demonstrate that, with hindsight, the assessments made on them in London were perhaps too hasty or even incorrect.
Tomori’s resurgence
The Tomori deal went through in January 2021: a loan with option to buy that then turned into a permanent deal a few months later given his convincing performances in the second half of that season.
Having cost €28m, Tomori was reborn under the guidance of Pioli, becoming a pillar of the super defence of the 2022 Scudetto win.
“Coming here I noticed the attention given to details in defending. And how important it is to defend together with your teammates, knowing where the team is or where the opponents are,” he said in an interview with the Players’ Tribune.
With Milan he has made 136 appearances so far and has six goals to his name. He is, to many, the most important centre-back in the squad.
Giroud’s second youth
The second player picked up from the Blues is Olivier Giroud and with him everything revolves around a sensational sliding door.
“At Chelsea I didn’t play much. I could have left earlier and signed for Inter in the winter transfer window of 2020, instead God wanted me to choose Milan,” he told UEFA.
The Frenchman arrived in Italy in the summer of 2021, when the Diavolo got him by paying €1m. Pioli immediately trusts him and puts him at the centre of the project together with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Giroud repaid this faith with big goals, such as those in the derby on 5 February 2022. A brace was worth, all things considered, a good chunk of the 19th league title.
So far he has made 123 appearances for the Rossoneri, with 47 goals (he also scored yesterday against Lecce) and 20 assists to his name.
Ruben’s rebirth
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has a great feeling with Italian coaches given that he thrived with Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea in the 2018-19 season. The former Lazio coach had used him as a mezzala with the license to throw himself into the attack, and he scored 10 goals.
Pioli took notes and gave him back his smile, transforming him into an essential key to breaking defences and unlocking matches. He cost €16m (plus €4m in bonuses) and so far he has made 35 appearances, already scoring 10 goals for the season.
A few days ago, he described his Italian breakthrough in this way to Cronache di Spogliatoio: “I have played in many positions in my career, in the current role I feel good.
“Pioli continually gives me feedback, also through videos and his English is improving day by day day. I work with the coach and his staff on the analysis of my game, I think this tool is important in today’s football.”
Pulisic’s explosion
Pulisic cost €20m and in Milan he is experiencing the best moment of his career. His numbers for the Rossoneri show 41 appearances, 13 goals (the last one yesterday against Lecce) and eight assists.
Captain America is a point of reference for Pioli, who has diverted him to the right flank and even used him as a playmaker yesterday.
Some interesting works came from his father Mark, who spoke to La Gazzetta: “Christian had everyone’s trust: Pioli trusts him, he always lets him play and doesn’t replace him immediately if things go wrong.
“Then He likes Milan and always speaks well of his team-mates: Tomori and Giroud helped him a lot when it came to choosing Milan.”
To embrace the Rossoneri project, a Zoom call with the coach was fundamental: “It went very well, Christian understood what the project was for him and said yes.”
Pulisic also represents a strategic coup for the American owners: the 25-year-old is the star of Gregg Berhalter’s US national team and in March he won the third consecutive CONCACAF Nations League as a protagonist.
