Zlatan Ibrahimovic has got very high hopes for new signing Strahinja Pavlovic and thinks the Serbian defender will become one of the AC Milan fanbase’s favourite players.
Speaking as part of Pavlovic’s first press conference as a Milan player (via Milan News), Milan executive Ibrahimovic spoke extremely highly of the 23-year-old for whom the press already seems to have a nickname.
In his part of the conference, Pavlovic explained that Ibrahimovic was actually fundamental in him deciding to pursue this move to the Rossoneri.
It is clear that Ibrahimovic has got a very prominent role to play in the transfers this summer but he gave the credit in identifying Pavlovic to the scouting team who flagged the former Red Bull Salzburg man as the ‘perfect’ player for what was needed.
“Pavlovic was the perfect player according to our scouting team. We followed him for quite a while, in the end we were all convinced. He is an aggressive left-footed player, in our defence there was only Theo Hernandez who was left-footed. He has the right attitude, which we want. We need some nastiness and Pavlovic is right for this team,” Ibrahimovic said.
“[Paulo] Fonseca likes him a lot, he is young and has a lot of room for growth. He has experience in the Champions League and international football. We have done everything to bring him here. I am 200% sure that he will be a fan favourite. He is someone who enters every duel with his heart, the fans feel it when you give 200% and I say this as a former footballer. Welcome to AC Milan, Strahinja Pavlovic.”
A journalist addressed Pavlovic as ‘Pavlo’ at one stage during the conference and that led Ibra to laugh at the fact a nickname already exists, saying: “Already giving him a nickname? This is an animal, not ‘Pavlo’.”
As explained by Ibrahimovic, Pavlovic’s arrival means that there are now five central defenders in the squad and the situation could stay the same given Malick Thiaw’s chances of moving to Newcastle United appear to be diminishing.
“We have five central defenders. [Pierre] Kalulu can also play on the right. Of our four central defenders, only Pavlovic is left-footed. It is important for us to have left-footed defenders. It will be a market of details, we will bring these details into the team and one of those details was a left-footed central defender,” he said.
“Strahinja is a leader on and off the pitch, despite being only 23 years old. It is important when you have a very young team to have such players. We think Kalulu can play on the right, it’s good to have alternatives. But the technical choice must be made by the coach.”
Anh ấy sẽ xuất sắc nhất Seria 2024-2025.
Okay, seems fun, now can you explain why we still don’t sign DMs, or is it bc we don’t need ’em, and what about Fofana, are we still playing waiting game with French club, what about Fullkrug, Hummels, Tammy, Royal, and Samardzic.
If you haven’t got it. Fullkrug is officially a West Ham player
West Ham is like okay let Milan use their scouts and resources and then we will swoop in and out bid them.
Fullkrug isn’t some unknown that would require serious scouting. The man featured for a CL finalist and in the Euro.