AC Milan knew that they needed to address the balance of the midfield during the summer transfer window, and Youssouf Fofana is giving signs that he could be the missing piece.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Fofana has played five games for Milan and there are some clear indications so far: out of possession he closes off the passing lanes and provides protects for the back four, but in possession he seems shy and has not shown the attacking dimension he had at Monaco.
There are two possible explanations. The first: Fofana sacrifices himself, he knows that Paulo Fonseca needs balance and does not go and occupy an area of the pitch inhabited by Reijnders, Pulisic, Morata and Leao. The second: Fofana arrived late and with Milan is not yet 100% fit.
The data shows that Fofana shot on goal 1.6 times per game at Monaco, while at Milan that value dropped to 0.6. He had higher numbers on expected assists (0.14 in France against 0.02 in Italy so far) and created a big chance every five games. In Serie A he is at zero and it doesn’t seem a rapid transformation is close.
Fofana is cautious with the Rossoneri and his heat maps explain a lot. At Monaco he was protected by a defensive midfielder, who was often Denis Zakaria, but now he plays with the ball mostly in his half of the field. He is the one protecting Reijnders, rather than the other way around.
When Milan have the ball, the France international dribbles in front of the central defenders, doesn’t take risks, plays with two touches. Essential. When Milan defends, Fofana stays with Reijnders in front of the central defenders as a screen to intercept moves in action.
Fonseca can be grateful because with Fofana and Gabbia he has found some stability. Against Venezia, Inter and Lecce conceded little (just 1.47 combined Expected Goals for the opponents) but Liverpool overran Milan and Inter had 27 touches in Maignan’s area which is a lot.
The challenge, for Fonseca and Fofana, is to find balance without giving up the best attack in the league. The question now is as follows: will the structure always be the same or will it evolve, not against Leverkusen and Fiorentina but perhaps from Milan-Udinese, after the October break, when Fofana will arrive close to 100% condition?
The feeling is that as long as Reijnders and the other attacking players are well, Fofana will remain a defensive midfielder as the safety blanket in front of the back four. This is something that many were crying out for, so there shouldn’t be much disappointment.
Some genius told me fofana is a regista
😂 fan of your comedy mate
I assume this must have been a big part in the sales pitch to Fofana from the club and part of the reason he wanted specifically to move to Milan – to allow him develop into a proper defensive midfielder.
With it being such a specialist role, it’s probably big benefit to his career to make that transition. But there will no doubt be some learning curve.
Let’s wait for the stats at Christmas before we get too excited.
We need him just like that. To provide the balance. Versus Inter, we often saw him dropping back in line with the CBs pairing, ala Kessie. While his counterpart in Tijani has a more freedom to roam forward. We need someone who’s willing to do an extra defensive coverage, and that’s in Fofana. Considering he didn’t even have a pre-season with us, the sign is extremely positive so far.
The slight problem is that we have no back up for him. Isma can do that role but he’s out injured. Musah is certainly different, bu perhaps he can be mold into that role (considering his young age).
His role with Monaco is exactly why I highlighted that he wasn’t the best profile for the problem we were trying to solve. It would have been wiser to get a player ALREADY accustomed to play in front of the defense and provide cover for his teammates, rather than develop one into this role.
Nevertheless, Fofana has already improved and I think he understood what he should do, it’s just going to take time.
The issue now is that we have nobody to replace him. Bennacer is injured but even then he is not fit for that role. Prime Bennacer played with a player that covered up for him and wasn’t the one providing cover. Musah is too reckless, has tendencies to carry the ball too much and doesn’t look that reliable defensively. I’m still having hopes for Vos, who does seem to be the appropriate profile, but Futuro doesn’t seem to be doing well so far.
Benera play Vos in the middle of the 3 men behind the striker
spot on. I have hopes for Musah to grow into the role. I know he looks old and has been around for a while but he is still a kid. 21ish. I mean he is doing it better than RLC ever did.
I feel when i watch games, RLC wants the role Reijdners has. to be mid with all the freedom. He looks uncomfortable in the CAM and too lazy defensively on the Pivot.
i agree with you on Vos. he his the perfect candidate and now he should be integrated into the senior team bit by bit. it should have been Abate handling the milan furor o not bonera.
the mgmt need to be recycled but since foncesa is doing fine we all forget about it.