Despite leaving AC Milan in the summer and not shutting down a return in the future, Theo Hernandez could make a move to a different Italian club soon.
Theo’s exit was certainly an abrasive one. From the initial doubts about a renewal to his final season in Milan colours, the situation was messy. It probably didn’t need to be, and yet there was an overriding feeling of toxicity from start to finish.
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Whether it was the club or the player, neither side really ‘won’ from his exit, and even now, the fanbase is torn about his departure. Perhaps the rise of Davide Bartesaghi is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, though.
Theo to return to Italy?
In recent times, there have been suggestions that he could return one day, and he did not close it down in an interview. However, it may be made difficult with him already considering a move back to Italy.
Carlo Pellegatti spoke on his YouTube channel about the information he had received, as PianetaMilan relays.
“I’ve received a sensational rumour from Riyadh. The rumour says that Theo Hernandez wants to return to Italy and that there is a negotiation with Juventus. I don’t know if it’s linked to a possible sale of Al-Hilal from the PIF fund.
“This is the rumour that I’ve received. They tell me that there is already good contact for Theo Hernandez’s return to Italy and to Juventus. I think more for next season than for January.”
Kone, Noslin and Mukau
Pelegrini 2
Theo isn’t defensive or organized enough to make it under Allegri. But it would be interesting to see him back in italy.
😆😆😆😆😆
I’d have at least liked to see how Allegri would have managed him. With us playing three at the back and the wing backs having less defensive responsibilities he might have flourished. I had read reports that Allegri had wanted him to stay but that management wanted him out. Oh well
No, not juventus, go to monza so you can still be with milan’s club
Como were interested; Theo turned them down last season. Let’s see what he does next.
If Theo goes to Juve or another rival, there are two possibilities:
1. He matures, becomes more professional, trains hard, watches his shape, gets more willing to try hard during games and sacrifice himself for the team, becomes more disciplined and stops collecting yellows and reds for dissent and temper tantrums, respects his coach, teammates and club, and seeks to improve his defensive skills.
2. He continues to be an immature man-child, remains sloppy defensively for lack of tactical application, remains narcissistic and selfish, disrespects his teammates, coach and club, picks fights with refs and opponents short-staffing the squad by being red-carded.
It’s very simple: Theo is a great footballer and has the potential for being-world class, but currently he lacks the mentality, maturity and professionalism needed to fulfill this potential.
If he achieves #1 above, he will be very helpful to his next club, and I will be concerned if his next team is one of our rivals.
If he remains #2 above, he will be detrimental to his next club, and I will be glad if his next team is one of our rivals, because he will weaken that team.
It’s as simple as that. Theo can be #1 if he so desires and works hard on his shortcomings. However his recent interview makes me feel that he remains #2, as he spent the whole interview blaming others and not acknowledging any personal responsibility for his failures.
My guess is #2 since that is his nature
Like Balotelli and Cassano. #1 or #2? I say more likely #2, but even if it’s #1 Theo will be 29 next season and his pace, his greatest weapon, will surely begin to decline and his defensive ability will never improve enough to make up for it regardless of attitude and discipline. I’m glad we now have 20 year old academy super-talent Bartesaghi starting, as this would not have been possible had Theo stayed.
You are correct. I forgot about Theo being 29; it’s becoming too late for him to become #1 and world-class. In this case, actually it would be better for Theo to keep collecting millions from the Saudis, then retire at the end of his contract. No club in a league other than his current one will pay him similar wages. Since his career is likely to be in decline, he should cash in while he can.
Well said.
Theo showed game understanding and discipline. The most notable instance was as emergency CB.
But like Luigi said, he willfully choses to play in ways counter to what is needed. It is somewhat damn!ng that he knows better and chooses otherwise.
At 29 he has the potential to gain the necessary perspective. That he is trying to get back to Serie A in spite of the huge paycheck in the desert says maybe he realized the breakup was really about him and he has the power to change that.
Pop psych over. Bring the rivalry
It is worth point out that the typical male begins a decline in fitness between 27 and 29 or so. However plenty get well into their 30s before biology takes over.
Testosterone makes you stronger but in the world of futball testosterone is really more about recovery. Recovery allows you to train harder and keep your levels up.
It’s interesting that women don’t see this until early to mid 30s. So in the women’s game you see more top players who are relatively older than corresponding males.
The central nervous system also begins its decline in the early 30s for most men. I don’t remember specific details, but you actually have to decrease volume CNS intense efforts (Plyo work in the gym, game time costs more) to ensure quality of each movement.
Modric is an obvious example here. When he started to decline it likely was not a fitness issue in terms of raw ability (testosterone and recovery) rather all that game time exhausted his CNS leading to him running/playing hard but making poor decisions or not executing them with perfection.
Okay likely enough nerd-ness for anyone who made it this far.
That’s all generally true info. but I think the yawning “wisdom-gap” is the biggest difference between Modric and Theo.
Well said. Like so many Milan fans I wanted to love Theo, but he made it impossible. He made so many amazing plays, scored some crushing unforgettable goals, and was always a threat on the left side.
But boy was there a tradeoff in terms of personality, responsibility, and actual defensive effort! I’m sure he was a big part of the toxic locker room last year, and his red cards, and stolen penalty kicks, etc. really are unforgiveable at this level.
Sigh. We’re clearly better off without him.
It’s like a romance with a beautiful woman who treats you poorly and tries to manipulate you. You have to let her go, you have to leave, but it’s not easy!
Theo had the world and threw it away because of ego and pettiness
I so hope he doesn’t come to Italy. Seeing him with one of the other big teams would hurt too much. He was my favourite player for several years.
I’m not sure that one year in the desert will teach him anything. He never struck me as being humble enough to believe he had anything to learn.
Don’t mind seeing him back in Europe’s top leagues but if he comes back to Italy it might sting on the h2h