AC Milan chose to invest in Samuel Chukwueze after weeks of negotiations to sign him from Villarreal, and thus a lot rests on his shoulders.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that Milan have finally solved the problem of the right wing. In the new 4-3-3 system, Stefano Pioli now has the luxury of picking from either Chukwueze or Christian Pulisic.
That’s not all, because in the 4-2-3-1, the two could also play together with Pulisic in the centre as the attacking midfielder – a role he has played for the national team – and Chukwueze on the right.
After the games against Monza and Trento, Chukwueze played for 87 minutes against Novara tonight to put more fuel in his legs ahead of the game against Bologna in eight days. In the first 30 minutes he was devastating, then he was more subdued for the middle third before finishing strongly.
In addition to covering the flank in the non-possession phase, the Nigerian showed all of his capabilities when it comes to beating his man with the dribbling, getting himself in dangerous areas and finishing, as seen with his composed first goal.
Among other things, Chukwueze gives the clear impression of having fun in what he does. One small criticism would be that sometimes he got too stubborn with the ball at his feet, crashing into the opponent’s wall.
However, this is a typical issue with talented players who have great awareness and confidence in their means, so asking him to stop trying to dribble would be like asking the same of Rafael Leao.
After two minutes he had already put Luka Romero through on goal but it wasn’t converted, then he scored in the ninth minute, before essentially setting up Noah Okafor’s goal with a shot that was saved and rebounded to the Swiss forward.
All the skills in Chukwueze’s arsenal suggest he could be devastating. Now, we are waiting for him to find his top condition physically, to gain full confidence in his means and to fully learn Pioli’s tactical schemes.
