Many have called for AC Milan to search for a midfielder in the January mercato. However, with Yacine Adli back in the picture, he could be an answer, at least for the short term.
Tommaso Pobega has been sidelined for several months, Ismael Bennacer has already departed for the African Cup of Nations, and the Rade Krunic situation is, as it has been for weeks, only pointing in one direction: an exit. As a result, there has been a discussion about Milan’s lack of quality depth, but with Yacine Adli’s performance against Cagliari, any potential worries could be lessened.
MilanNews writes that the midfielder was a great partner for Tijjani Reijnders and helped make the Rossoneri tick in all aspects of the game. He recovered the ball well and defended when needed. Additionally, he brought Milan up the pitch, finding Luka Jovic on more than one occasion.
The traits that Adli possesses make him a great option for Pioli in the midfield, and with him proving that he can compliment Reijnders whilst delivering a quality performance himself opens new possibilities for the midfield and could lessen worries about the current absentees.
I think he has shown that he does has what it takes skill and effort wise, and he also possesses a lot of patience. It sure took him a while to break into the team. Now he seems to be getting chances. This is to Krunic’s detriment. All for the better.
I like him on the ball but I think he’s poor off it. His movement isn’t great and we all know his defensive issues. It’s good he’s getting some minutes and hopefully the game time will help round out his game because Milan could use his strengths. He seems to be best suited for games against a low block or where possession is laborious. Him and Bennacer are the only two midfielders who seem willing (and capable) of advancing the ball vertically with a pass. I can see him being an effective playmaker in the long term if his development continues 🤞
He needs to play more to become better suited for this team. He actually does have the quality. He just needs to simply play more. We can’t expect a player to adapt to defensive requirements if he doesn’t play. So lets him give him a chance. Every player has their strengths and weaknesses, and he has more strengths than weaknesses.
So if we want him to work on his weaknesses, he has to play more.
Everyone cannot be great at everything. Adli isn’t good at defending. Then give him a role where he doesn’t have to defend so much. Simple.
A wise coach will use the strengths of his players and try to cover their weaknesses. Just the opposite of what Pioli is doing.
He was good against a poor Cagliari side. Not saying much. I haven’t seen much of him to write home about if I’m being honest. 6 is NOT his position. Obviously we have to use him with Benny out.
I miss Bennacer already.
Adli is a defensive liability. He did well against Cagliari’s team B, big deal! Against Sassuolo he almost cost us the game, like he did before, either failing defensively or causing dangerous fouls or PKs. I think he is vastly overrated by fans and part of the press. He is not good at defending and as a CAM there are better players than him so I’m not sure what his ideal role is. Pulisic does that role better than Adli. Pity that we don’t have someone for the right wing that would allow Puli to be given the CAM role more often. Chuk has disappointed. But if we could get Puli there, and if we had a proper defensive midfielder like Kessie was, Adli would have no space. As of now, with our current limitations, Adli can occasionally be helpful, but he is not more than a backup player. I’ve never seen so much hype bestowed upon a rather mediocre player. It’s maybe because he is a nice guy, a true milanista, and has good work ethic and good attitude so people defend him a lot, and it is nice that he’s got these qualities, but skills wise he is just an average player. He tends to pass well against bad teams and tends to fall apart against good teams. He’s nothing to write home about.
Amen to that!
with our current depth situation, i’m ok with him playing against lower table sides so that we rest our A1 team
Adli has everything it takes on the offensive front. If he can just become somewhat in defense, I think we have a star midfielder on our hands
He’s too slow and makes hospital passes. He’d suit a team in a slow league.
What’s slower than Serie A I ask you…?
Ligue 1.