AC Milan’s midfield has seen somewhat of a renovation this summer, but the keys to the midfield are still held by one man, according to a report.
It is, perhaps, questionable if you can call one signing a renovation. However, when the signing allows the movement and reorganisation of a department which faced heavy scrutiny last season, it feels fair to do so.
Since Sandro Tonali departed, there was a clear lack of something in the midfield, and whilst Milan still had a decent midfield without the Italian, it was not a sustainable grouping of players, and on several occasions last season it showed.
Tijjani Reijnders’ position fluctuated between the 6 and the 10, Yacine Adli was forced into a deeper role, and there was a general lack of balance in every composition which effectively forced the Rossoneri to sign a defensively-minded midfielder this summer.
Now that Youssouf Fofana is through the door, there is hope of balance being found, given he can bring a ‘graft’ that has been missing since Tonali’s departure, as Gazzetta dello Sport (via Milan News) writes.
However, the most important player of the trio will be Reijnders, who ‘still holds the keys to the Rossoneri’s engine’. The midfielder has all the traits to lead the team, connect from the defence and attack, and conduct the play.
They have to transition him to the 10 role. His vision, passes and vertical drives are there to exploit. Give him minutes there he’I’ll drive this team forward.
Let’s hope fofana can do the dirty job if we get DM who can do dirty job then reijnders is the boss he has everything to be star
Man, this article couldn’t be more wrong. Something lacking in the midfield since Tonali left? No. Something has been lacking since Kessie left. The Tonali Bennacer midfield didn’t work which was a big reason why they sold him. When are we going to let the MYTH that Tonali was some great midfielder die?
When are we going to let the MYTH that Tonali was some great midfielder die?
Are you saying Tonali was not so good at 22 with potential of being great?
Yes. He reached his ceiling and it wasn’t very high. No potential of being great. I ask you, what was he great at? Not a highly skilled player. Not a great dribbler. Not a great passer. Not a great striker of the ball. Didn’t really deliver a great set piece from corners or free kicks. Not especially great defensively. So how does someone who is not great at anything be considered a great player..?
Could it be that he was overhyped and overrated by an Italian media that desperately is searching for the next great Italian talent? Or the fans that fell in love with him because he grew up as a boy loving Milan..? Probably.
He’s a good player. Nothing more. If he wasn’t Italian nobody on here would care about him at all.
Now tell me in which area Reijnders is better? Defense? Attack? Goals? Assists? Dead balls? Freekicks? Oh he looks good on the ball and knows how to run vertically.
I’m not as big a fan of Reijnders as a lot of people on here but I would say that Reijnders is a better dribbler, a better passer and has better vision than Tonali did but he does often lack the end product.
Yeah a 19 yo wonderkid coveted by Milan, Inter, Barcelona, starter for Milan at 21 yo, starter for the Italian national team at 21 yo, scored the scudetto winning goal against Lazio two years ago and sold for 70M€. Then Milan recorded a historic high number of goals allowed. Also a fan favorite and if you’ve been to San Siro you know that half the jerseys there were printed with his name in the back. Such a loser.
His being a fan favorite had nothing to do with his performance and everything to do with him being Italian and growing up as a Milan fan. That’s what you can’t separate.
How many games did start for the National team? Are you counting the under 21 team?
It also wasn’t the Scudetto winning goal vs Lazio. They still had 4 games left to win after that, and Ibra did all the hard work on that goal. But by all means keep twisting the facts around to support your argument.
Tonali had already lost his starting spot at Newcastle by the time he was suspended for being a degenerate gambler. I doubt he will win it back this season. You can go watch him play 15 minutes a game for a mid-table Premiere League team if you want. I’ll be rooting for Milan to win because nobody is bigger than the club.
Gotta agree here.
The Scudetto winning season came at a 2pt gap. You could argue that any game winning goal that season could have been the Scudetto winning goal, not just Tonali’s.
I liked his grit and devotion to Milan but ultimately he was more of a Milan romance than an actual stellar player.
Would have loved him to captain this Milan side but in retrospect the sacrifice made this team better and keeps moving the club in the right direction.
That “right direction” is the myth here. Speculation. Hope. Dreams. The only right direction is the growing value of the brand which will lead ultimately to massive ROI for Jerry “winning is boring” Cardinale.
Again Bart has nothing to back up his argument other than his crystal ball of what he thinks is going on in the owners head, and then of course puts quotation marks around something that he never actually said just to make it even more dishonest. The last resort of someone with no argument.
mind you that some milan legend were not so technically gifted.. gattuso only has grit/grinta in his skillset or inzaghi only has nose for goals.. but they were good enough for milan and becomes legend here.. it’s the same thing with tonali.. fans could see his passion for the shirt and he done his job well when he plays..
He is only one who shows positives from the bunch of 20-30M signings last year. I bet you can not sell anybody for capital gain, including Pulisic.
We are yet to see someone close to Tonali level, not that he was spectacular or
Nothing special apart from running with the ball elegantly. 38 games 4 assists and 4 goals for a wide playmaker is not something worth hyping. Thought he’ll show something in the Euros, away from Pioli and his rigid tactics. Still nothing. He can run sure, but lacks character for that end product. I do stand to be corrected this season and I hope he proves me wrong.
Sorry thisnwas suppose to be stand alone comment and not a reply to you.
tonali left a huge gap in the midfield even he was at milan.
5 points. And one of the worst season in history of the club for goals conceded. That’s the difference our new 60 million midfield got us compared to our Tonali-Bennacer midfield a season before.
Truth is that one of our midfielders is at the level of Tonali.
he is more complete that all of them, he could defend, attack pass and better in set paces.