Following what was a disastrous 2023-24 season, defensively speaking, AC Milan will be looking for change under Paulo Fonseca and the first few friendlies have been promising. As highlighted by Andrea Longoni, Fkayo Tomori in particular must step up.
The Englishman was absolutely brilliant for most of the Scudetto season but has since struggled to remain consistent. Against Man City last week, he made a big mistake on their second goal and it was all due to a lack of concentration.
In his latest editorial for MilanNews, Andrea Longoni has highlighted this obvious flaw of Tomori, while also stating that he must be the leader at the back. With Strahinja Pavlovic now in the ranks as well, the Serbian will need someone to show him the way initially.
“Fonseca’s true mission will be to give Milan a high-level defensive phase: this was the main issue in Pioli’s last season. Pavlovic is doing well, but a lot will depend on Tomori: he will have to lead the department, if the Englishman is attentive then things will certainly go better at the back. However, if he’s clumsy and unfocused, then there will be problems. The Serbian must be given time to settle in and fit into the new context,” he writes.
Pavlovic is currently working at Milanello and will meet the rest of his teammates at the end of this week. Tomori, meanwhile, is fully focused on the friendly against Barcelona which is scheduled for Tuesday evening local time.