Mario Manduzkic has not given up on earning a spot in the Milan squad for next season but he faces an uphill battle, a report claims.
Almost two months after his last appearances following a long stop due to injury, Manduzkic is almost back. His last appearance dates back to last February 18, in the Europa League against Red Star, but now the Croatian forward has returned to training with the rest of the squad.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanNews), Mandzukic has his destiny in his hands. He has played just 157 minutes in all competitions so far, but he doesn’t want to give up and the game against Parma is the first step to convincing Milan to keep him. The striker wants to prove that he deserves the salary he earns and if he manages to score at least five goals between now and the end of the season, Milan would likely keep him.
In Mandzukic’s contract there is no option that provides for automatic renewal in case of qualification for the next edition of the Champions League. There are conditions for an auto-renewal based on performance parameters, so the ex-Juventus and Bayern Munich man will have to fight in the next matches to deserve another chance.
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Manduzkic’s acclimation to Milan was hampered by Pioli’s inability to substitute Zlatan. He was brought in and announced as the “Vice-Ibra”, so where did Pioli play him in the last minutes of games with a tired 39 year old Zlatan on the pitch? Out on the left wing. Pioli gave Mario only a trickle of minutes in the wrong position before starting him in Europa league. Of course he got injured. Pioli never built up his match fitness by substituting Zlatan. Ibra is not a 90 minute player and needs relief. Even the Swedish national team subs him. But at Milan, Pioli doesn’t sub Zlatan. Only Zlatan subs Zlatan. This is wrong and it will cost us points.