Ismael Bennacer made his long-awaited return to the field on Saturday night during the win over Frosinone, and now we can start to imagine how AC Milan will look with him back in the team.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that Bennacer has refined the art of timing since he arrive at Milan. He knows when to accelerate and when to be cautious, when to move the ball quickly through the lines with a pass and when to dribble.
The real question mark is what will happen in January, when the Africa Cup of Nations starts. It is a competition that Bennacer has already won back in 2019 just before he joined the club, while he remained non-committal when asked recently about his presence at the next one.
Regardless of that doubt, what will happen in midfield when he starts? Whether it’s 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 makes no difference because Bennacer can do everything: he can play in front of the defence in a double pivot or as a No.6, while he can function as a mezzala or even as an attacking midfielder.
The paper believes that the Algerian will tend to be Tijjani Reijnders’ alter ego, with Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek completing the department. That would provide a balance in both phases, with physicality and creativity.
There are a lot of options though. Musah can play in front of the defence while Yacine Adli has also responded to the call. Both are more natural box-to-box players though, as is Tommaso Pobega, which could mean Bennacer plays a bit further back and is the real orchestrator at the base of the three.
Alternative to Reijnders? OK , maybe… but I thought it would be a more stellar lineup to use Benny with Reijnders and Musah.
On the other hand, Reijnders has played EVERY game so far, so in that sense, using benny for him makes sense. But I would love to see what playing both of them would look like.
Reijnders – Bennacer – Musah if you’re playing 4-3-3
Reijnders – Bennacer and RLC in front if you’re playing 4-2-3-1
Krunic is out of any question? He is probably already sold that we do not know.
After losing many good players for free, I hope they managed to solve problems with expiring contracts and decision making when to sell.