AC Milan are among the final eight teams in the Champions League and it is in large part thanks to a very young defensive department, a report claims.
Tuttosport (via MilanNews) writes this morning that Milan fielded a defence with an average age of 23.8 years to help them get to the quarter-finals and against forwards considered world class in Harry Kane and Heung-min Son they certainly did not look out of place.
Pierre Kalulu was bought for just €500m, Fikayo Tomori cost €29m, Malick Thiaw arrived from Schalke for €5m and Mike Maignan signed from Lille for just under €15m. In total, it is a rearguard built with just €50m and one the could stay in place for year to come.
Tomori, despite some difficult games, is one of the best defenders in the league and today he is worth double the amount he was bought for, whileKalulu and Thiaw are still very young but play with impressive composure.
Theo Hernandez could also be added to this discussion too as Milan paid €22m to sign him from Real Madrid and today he is one of the best full-backs on the planet. Directors Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara in partnership with chief scout Geoffrey Moncada deserve a lot of praise, therefore.
As mentioned, the feeling is that there are very large margins for improvement for each of the defenders given that they are still so young. Milan’s rebirth came from the rearguard, with Pioli redesigning the three-man defence and restoring balance and compactness.
Another positive aspect is also the flexibility of the players used. Kalulu, Thiaw and Tomori are capable of adapting to situations. The former arrived as right full-back and established himself as a centre-back in a four-man defence, Thiaw can play in both systems and any centre-back role while the same can be said for Tomori too.
“Pierre Kalulu was bought for just €500m”. You mean k, right?