AC Milan have faced Rapid Vienna and Manchester City in their preseason campaign so far, and one of the things that has stood out is the use of Mattia Liberali.
As MilanNews recall, Liberali was deployed from the first minute against the Austrian side and replaced Ismael Bennacer about half an hour from the end on Saturday evening in the 3-2 win against City.
It took just over 70 minutes of game time to enchant and amaze many fans, because in addition to the technical ability that was known about before, he also showed a certain character by insistently asking for the ball and attempting some difficult dribbles.
There was a back heel with which he eluded the pressure of Kalvin Phillips, a player that cost City around €50m, and he was key in helping Fonseca’s side play out of the press, something that the new coach is keen to instil.
Those who have followed him in the youth sector know that he has always stood out as one of the best talents together with Francesco Camarda, Christian Comotto and Diego Sia. He belongs to a group that Milan believe to be in the elite, and with that comes a responsibility to develop him in the best way.
It is unlikely that Fonseca will decide to keep him with the first team on a permanent basis despite his encouraging friendly displays. However, he should play with Milan Futuro in Serie C and that should be the ideal stepping stone.
The investment in Futuro looks better and better with each of these articles.
I am keen to see it play out with some of these kids getting regular-ish call up ups for rest, rotation and injury in the first team.
Very exciting times ahead !
We need to trim squad of fodder so these talents can get more chances
I’m dreaming of our own class 92
We had our class of 84 and they won us our last Champions League in 2007. People forget Maldini and Costacurta were around that long.
I was really impressed by this kid in the Man City game. He looked totally comfortable on the ball against a top side like Man City. I might keep him on the squad. Problem is we have an abundance of midfielders right now, especially if Fonseca is going to use Pulisic at the 10. Looks like we have some promising youngsters, that’s a good thing.
It’s probably Milan Futuro for this seasson and next seasson he step up to A team , like Zeroli, Nasti and maybe Camarda, but for me Camarda is still to young for seria A, he came after 2 or 3 seasson when will be 19 years old.. If they don’t sell them for few milions, Milan’s and Italy’s future will be massive.
But first, I hope they sell some of our players, it is time to part away with few of them,
They don’t have much of a choice. Unless Camarda believes that they are doing the right thing, which they might be, he has a 3-year deal, and if he’s not integrated into the first team by the end, he’s probably not going to stay unless his performance is poor. He may not want to stay anyway. But they have set up a system where they regularly train with the first team so they will know when a player can step in. Sometimes contracts don’t line up to make it possible to keep a player, but they are not trying to sell the young players at least not until they become first team players that command a large purchase; they are creating a sustainable system of talent so that they don’t have to buy every player, resulting in less they can spend on salaries.
And I agree, they definitely need to sell right now. I think they were expecting to have moved a couple players by this point, and it is holding up what they can do.
After Futuro, you must give them first team play in Serie A to have players who raise abilities and value.
Juventus sold almost 100 million this year.
I see, he’s this season’s Simic then
No, Simic didnt have a 3 year contract. This guys contract runs out in 2026. Hopefully they will renew him through this season.
Ah a familiar pattern.
The optimism for youth that soon turns to dismissal of the same youth as not quite being ‘good enough’ despite said youth having played a total of about 100 mins (hyperbole alert) across 5 seasons and 5 different clubs before being put out to pasture in their mid-20s and then returning to play against us for our rivals.
Pattern? There is drastic change there, they doesnt need to change club every season since we have our own Serie C and maybe become Serie B team
Drastic change by selling the best young talent we had in years — Simic. Because he was “not ready”. This management has sold him! Not Pioli.
Best young talent we had in years? Based on what? Fans that have seen him play in 2,3 gamed?
If he was such a great talent how come none of this big teams signed him? Inter sold Casadei to Chelsea for 15 mil.
Juve sold Sule to Roma for 25-30 mil. Sold illing Junior to Aston Villa for 15 mil. Barrenechea also to A. Villa for 8-10 mil.
Simic such a great talent that Anderlecht wanted him.
Same with Daniel Maldini and Colombo. Such great talents that serie A relegation teams are only interested in them.
Oh, and if that bald fraud Pioli actually used him last season when everyone was injured, maybe Simic wouldn’t have asked to be sold.
Based on what exactly!
How is anyone judging half the players including last season’s signings given most barely played!
To judge a player you probably need to give them at least a season starting most of the games.
A few cameo appearances don’t really count.
Donnarumma was always overrated (and I am not just saying that because I’m bitter).
For a modern keeper he had the ball control of a keeper from the 1980s
He was a good shot stopper and he was confident.
But the key reason why he succeeded was because Milan don’t tend to bother too much with GKs.
The easiest positions to break into the first team are GK and FBs.
Striker is the hardest.
That would probably be the case anyway because strikers are the key difference makers but it doesn’t help that the club has to sign new striker(s) every single transfer window.
It’s simply not possible for a youth player to break in whilst we are signing new players for the same position.
Based on Italy being European Champions at U19 and U17 level and our own Primavera getting to the SF and final of the UEFA youth league. If you don’t think there’s a huge difference between Pobega and Colombo and guys like Zeroli, Camarda, Barteshagi, Liberali, Scotti, you’re not paying attention. Futuro was established to get these boys ready for Serie A.
And how it turned out for Casadei that Chelsea transfer? Being shipped around on loans. If you’d pay attention you would understand Simić had Bundesliga offers on the table but opted for Anderlecht because kid is looking for first team football and Anderlecht can give him that at his age. He understands he’s still a kid but needs regular playing time on a senior level in order to develope properly. Smart decision from him.
Personally, I thought they could have gotten closer to 4-5M + 20% return on Donnarumma. He was an ok young player…not great like Simic but he had potential.
Donnarumma was an OK young talent, not great like Simic?
What are you even saying?
Donnarumma was a starter at 16 and was valued 60 mil when he was lost for nothing and at worst top 10 GK in the world.
He was the best Milan Primavera talent probably since Maldini
This is one of the most absurd thing I read today. Donnarumma is “OK” young player, not “Great” as Simic… Thanks for the laugh.
Donnarumma was one of the best young GK in the world when we lost him for free.
There’s reason why he is starter for us since 16, why we follow his request of hiring Antonio Donnarumma for 1m/year, giving him one of the biggest salary in club, why we give his agent a big commission…
We can easily get 40m for him if we want to sell. We don’t. We lost him for free because Maldini refuse to sell him in his last year, keep optimistic to renew his contract…
I think the new approach is going to make things worse because the players will get the less Serie A experience, and the youth team will become an outlet for ‘problem players’ ie the ones the club doesn’t know what to do with because it’s signed too many.
The only way we’re going to see an improvement is if we cut down Serie A squads and reduce the player turnover.
Case in point, the club is trying to sign Samardžić despite having Zeroli ready to step up and RLC.
Case in point the club signed Jiménez despite having Terracciano and Bartesaghi.
Nothing about this summer suggests things have improved.
Case in point rather than supporting Gabbia by giving him a strong DM, the club is signing another CB and not a DM.
Again the failure to target key weaknesses in the team and instead filling out the squad in areas where we have coverage just results in this continuous pattern of failure.
This is a silly take lol. The team was just created this year with the aim of eventually reaching Serie B, which has been a great stepping stone. Let’s not forget that Milan needs Futuro, not only to produce talents at Milan’s level but also at the level of Fiorentina, Genoa, and others, so they can be sold for a profit.
For example, Zeroli seems like a good talent, but we don’t know if he has reached his peak at this level. Therefore, we need to create an environment where we can test the potential of the player.
For every positive move Milan management and ownership make for this team, there always seem to be opinions like this one.
Colombo wasn’t good enough for Monza, and now you want him as your backup striker lol.
Gabbia is a great bench player, but I don’t want that guy leading our defensive line lol because he is at best a Villareal player. This is his maximum potential. He’s never going to turn into Nesta lol.
You guys want Zeroli to play but don’t want the team to sign a player who is entering his prime?
I would understand giving Zeroli a chance if our midfield was already stacked like it was in the past. Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso, and you can play Zeroli because he has world-class players next to him.
You guys want a 17-year-old to play next to RLC and Musah lmao.
“Sold for profit” like they’re cattle…
Honestly just follow the cattle yards if you’re so into wheeling and dealing.
Your completely arbitrary ratings are noted. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with your subjective opinions of players based on minimal minutes on the pitch for Milan….
Anyway, that’s my OPINION so can’t actually be right or wrong, so we’ll have to wait and see (neither of us being capable of predicting the future).
I’m sure you’ll come back to admit you’re wrong when a total of zero players break into the first team.
@Maldini’s Heir
If you don’t perform well at your job, they will replace you with someone better. Their value is directly linked to their contribution on the pitch.
We’re not playing FIFA Manager Mode where a player can get to 85+ overall if you play them every game of the season lol.
A team can’t succeed without top performers. Not every player from the academy is going to be a Maldini.
It’s not about predicting the future; it’s about making decisions that will impact Milan’s long-term success. You shouldn’t be so quick to criticize Milan just because Gabbia isn’t getting a chance.
To quote the famous Mourinho, look at where some of the past Milan players are playing now.
If you don’t perform at your job?
Whoever is responsible for taking some of the greatest youth players of their generation and transitioning to the senior team has less than 1% success rate.
So why are any of them in a job?
Why are any of the army of directors, scouts, middle managers and randomers still in jobs when they consistently fail in producing a Scudetto winning side?
I mean they dismantled a Scudetto winning midfield last season and created a massive gulf in the centre of our pitch and faced zero consequences.
They sacked the manager and they (how many of them) are still in jobs.
But, sure, let’s focus on the players and work on the basis that somehow, you can take elite athletes, and just drop them in any auld team with zero focus or direction.
It’s like leaving a pedigree race horse in a field for a year and expecting it to win a race.
What we are seeing is gross incompetence in the management of elite athletes.
Otherwise how do you explain the total collapse of quality in Italy?
Is it the water?
Something in the DNA?
If the standard of success at the highest level is 1% then any professional team would be happy with anything close to that.
If you’re a professional player playing at the highest level a coach or the managers don’t dictate your performance on the pitch or your talent.
Last year your midfield would’ve been Krunic and Pobega or Krunic and Adli if they hadn’t sold Tonali with your right winger being Messias and your CAM being Maldini??? Who had to cut short his loan at Empoli cause he wasn’t good enough.
I’m not saying the management is perfect but they have made great moves and all of this criticism isn’t warranted.
You can criticize the signing of Morata because we could’ve gotten a top striker. Or you can criticize Royal instead of a top RB but you can’t say their investments in the youth are dumb.
They have to invest in the future while also maintaining a team that will finish in the top 4.
You like to push this narrative about our team but fact is we are a winning team that shows a lot of potential for the foreseeable future. As long as this team is in the top 4 consistently, I’m sure the big names will come.
You don’t think Milan Futuro is a step in the right direction for Italian talent? I don’t understand what your point is in all of this.
Youth players are not paying competitive? Here is a platform for them to compete. If they can’t compete and perform in Seria C where are they going to compete lol???
Again why are you defending this?
That 1% is not 1% of the general public but 1% of the best talent of their generation.
That’s a shocking conversion rate.
And how many times have we seen the exact same players perform completely differently in different conditions.
Pretty much the exact same Chelsea squad went from 1st to 10th to 1st in three seasons, Napoli did the same last season dropping to 10th from 1st, Man Utd collapsed after Ferguson, Conte took Juve from 7th to an unbeaten first in his first season.
Pulisic was transformed when he came to Milan, Chuk struggled (probably because Pulisic succeeded).
Krunic was our best midfielder and most important players not according to me but Pioli. But the club forced him out and our midfield collapsed. The same happened when Ambrosini left and Montolivo was prematurely awarded the captaincy.
These subtle differences make all of the difference. Not some totally arbitrary rating based off the back of a YouTube video or 5 min cameo.
And they’re not playing competitive football because they’re playing in Serie C.
I am fear this lots of talent end up with loan out or Milan insert sell on clause …
Only one problem… serie c, historicaly, was rarely a stepping stone (if memory serves me, certain pippo inzaghi was a rare exemption) and is usualy a place where careers go to die… barca never has issue starting 16, 17y olds
Barca also have a smaller first team squad.
Last season they had a first team squad of 23 (compared to Milan’s first team squad of 29).
Barca also signed 4 new players compared to Milan’s 10.
Real also had a first team squad of 23 and signed 3 new players.
Man City had a first team squad of 22. They added 3 players to their first team squad last summer.
This is how you do it. Not flicking players off to Serie C because you’ve run out of room.
Where do you get the number of 29 first team squad? Hyperbole as always?
Last year our senior (>22 y.o) squad at the start of the season :
GK : Maignan, Sportiello, Mirante (3)
CB : Tomori, Thiaw, Kalulu, Kjaer (4)
LB : Theo (1)
RB : Calabria, Florenzi (2)
CM : Krunic, Bennacer, Adli, Reijnders, RLC, Musah, Pobega (7)
RW : Pulisic, Chukwueze (2)
LW : Leao, Okafor (2)
CF : Giroud, Jovic (2)
A grand total of 23 players. Not much different with other team.
Go to Wikipedia…
We used 35 players last season but I discounted a few because of the injury crisis.
Why are you defending decades of failure?
What motivates you to come on here and become so defensive about these things?
Barca and Real play with tighter squads and focused transfers. That is why La Liga does so much better than Serie A, and Spain better than Italy.
It’s not the water or some superior DNA.
Honestly the lack of critical thought around these parts is truly breathtaking.
Barcelona are broke and Real Madrid are the best club on Earth. As usual, your comparisons are meaningless. As has already been explained to you, and it’s proven by the success of these players at youth level, these kids are a level above Pobega, Colombo and everyone who went before save for Donarumma. That you need to be corrected constantly should indicate that people like you would do well to post less and read more.
Why would comparisons with two clubs in a country that has consistently produced great youth players be ‘meaningless’???
Is that just too much ambition for you?
So Italy/Milan has produced ONE world class player in (how many years)?
15 years?
ONE world class player (who wasn’t that world class because he was a modern keeper who can’t use his feet).
And you accept that without question. Sorry, if anyone questions it, you become angry and defensive and feel the need to attack that person.
Just in case Italy manages to catch up with Spain?
Bizarre.
Our Primavera graduates are top notch compared to the past seasons and many of them can possibly “make” it, but we won’t know who until they play with grown ups for a few seasons. Also some of them definitely WILL NOT make it. Either way Milan Futuro is the way to go. Juve next gen and Atalanta under 23 is the proof.
Now we will see in a few years’ time. Maybe Diego Sia makes it and Zeroli doesn’t. Maybe Liberali makes it and Camarda doesn’t! But I’m sure someone definitely will come through. They are a talented bunch.
boy looked super sharp v city. give him a chance to be pulisic back up as a no. 10
Ha those of you criticizing this, were asking for it last year 😂
Maldini’s heir your takes are outrageous and you will spin anything to sheet talk management. And your crazy butt is only backed by ppl who say things like “dollaruma wasn’t a great youth talent.”
Tell me you just started following Milan without telling me 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣