Koni De Winter’s adventure at AC Milan didn’t get off to a great start, but recently his performances have been resurgent.
After a spell with Genoa where he looked ready for a big move, MilanNews recall how De Winter struggled initially at Milan. He didn’t get many minutes, and in his rare starts he often made errors which impacted his playing time further.
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In particular, the Supercoppa Italiana defeat against Napoli in Riyadh had only increased the doubts and criticism regarding his adaptation to his new club, despite the pressure on the bench from a coach who knows him well in Massimiliano Allegri.
Signs of growth
In the last few rounds in the league, something has changed. De Winter has been deployed more regularly, also due to the injuries first to Matteo Gabbia, then Strahinja Pavlovic, and the suspension of Fikayo Tomori. The result? He is showing greater balance and solidity compared to a few weeks ago.
In the away victory against Cagliari for example, the former Genoa man put in a convincing performance, with good defensive management and positional awareness. Even the most critical judges gave him a strong passing grade.
Even against Lecce on Sunday, De Winter carried out his task with great attention, contributing to the compactness of the department which managed to finish the match without conceding a single goal, also thanks to the fact the away side didn’t want to attack.
De Winter’s mental switch likely came in last Thursday’s match in Como, against Cesc Fabregas’ side, a match in which the defender played one of his best games for Milan if not his best. He played on the left of the three, and despite the strong pressure he managed to largely hold his ground.
After a turbulent period of adaptation, De Winter seems to have finally found his place. Who knows, perhaps this is precisely why Milan have decided not to pursue another central defender, at least for the time being.
De Winter has talent, he’s shown it before he came to Milan. He’s going through an adjustment period, an in all honesty he has a higher ceiling than what I saw in Thiaw. Judge him next season, let him grow into his role under Allegri.
He’s also adjusting and improving faster than Thiaw ever did.
So what we are saying is – give people we judged as good potential to work hard, adjust and play and they might actually succeed? Something is rotten in Italy in the way youngsters are treated. Messi and Yamal would have never broken through the ranks in Italy. Messi would have probably been told he’s too weak and small, and for Yamal they would say his handwritting is poor. or something similar.
Great to see de Winter’s confidence growing. He’s a real talent. We need to be 4- or 5-deep in the back to be competitive the 2nd half.
I always thought he was going to be a great signing. Now he’s showing it. He was a key part of Genoa’s solid defense.
It’s not a mystery. Players typically tend to improve with m ore minutes played. Except for Fofana – trees change, seasons change Fofana don’t change. Just keep the man out of either box and he’s good.
Great job for the kid, happy for him.
But Milan would be stupid to not bring in another CB to rotate. 5 is a bare minimum amount in order to play a back 5.