Samuel Chukwueze had to wait a while for his first Serie A goal – 628 minutes to be exact – but it was certainly worth the wait as he scored a lovely volley against Hellas Verona.
Chukwueze joined Milan from LaLiga side Villarreal during the 2023 summer transfer window for a deal worth €20m plus some substantial bonuses, which made him the most expensive summer signing. It would be fair to say he had some difficulty hitting the ground running.
However, as La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, Chukwueze scored just five minutes after coming off the bench against Verona and now it begs the question, will breaking his league duck finally open up a path for him towards a leading role?
The Nigerian scored the goal against Newcastle United away from home that completed the Rossoneri’s comeback and gave them access to the Europa League knockout round, so he has made valuable contributions already.
Pioli explained the performance of the former Villarreal player as follows: “Those who come from a foreign league that is not the Premier League struggle more. He had some physical problems and his commitment in the Africa Cup of Nations. But he is settling in, he has talent and quality.”
Samu thanked the coach: “Whoever plays in my role is scoring a lot of goals and Pioli can’t put him on the bench.” He smiled, of course referring to Pulisic.
“I trust the coach and the plans he has for me, it doesn’t matter if I don’t play much. I will continue to work hard because it is to score these goals that the club hired me,” he added.
Speaking of the summer mercato, with Chukwueze’s goal the number scored by new signings rose to 40. If we consider those who came off the bench to score, the count comes to 14.
Samu acted with precision: one shot, one goal. In addition to aesthetics, he showed sacrifice too: in the time available recovered three balls from the opponent and won a duel.
Fellow Naija
I greet you