AC Milan have launched the ‘Milan Futuro’ team in Serie C for next season, but there are some players with question marks surrounding whether they might already be ready for the big stage.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport reports this morning, Stefano Pioli gave Davide Bartesaghi, Francesco Camarda, Alex Jimenez, Jan-Carlo Simic and Kevin Zeroli their first-team debuts last season, as well as Lapo Nava and Chaka Traoré who were already part of the first team squad.
What are the prospects for those players? The tour in the USA at the end of the month will begin to provide some important answers, especially given that the Milan Futuro squad has not yet been finalised.
A lot of work is underway as Paulo Fonseca, Daniele Bonera and the management are discussing who can be considered more on the first team side rather than Futuro. Jimenez and Simic – both born in May 2005 – seem the ‘most ready’ of the group.
The former has just been bought permanently from Real Madrid for €5m, a more tangible sign of how much the Rossoneri trust him, while Simic seemed on the verge of leaving having not signed a renewal but the rumours have stopped.
Among those who will play for Milan Futuro more regularly are Zeroli and Bartesaghi. The first will be the captain, meaning he will carry the armband over from the Primavera, while the latter played not only in Serie A last season but also in the Champions League.
It is the same satisfaction experienced by Chaka Traoré, a winger who spent the second half of last season on loan at Palermo but without making much impact. Thus, it is reasonable to think that Serie C with Milan Futuro is the most suitable solution for him.
The position of Nava is in the balance, will he be the third goalkeeper in the first team or compete with Raveyre for the starting spot in Futuro? These are also decisions that might become more clear as preseason continues.
Finally there is Camarda, who will be part of Bonera’s squad and – barring very strange situations – has no prospects of being a more permanent fixture in the first team for the coming season. He will start to gain experience among senior opponents, without any intention of rushing.
