Arriving in January on loan with an option to buy, Alexis Saelemaekers managed to surprised everyone, favoured by the injury of Samu Castillejo. This game him playing time and it was enough to secure his stay at Milan.
As highlighted by MilanNews.it, Stefano Pioli managed to insert explosiveness of the Belgian, considered a real joker both for his role and flexibility. The experience of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer also helped the manager, it should be added.
Saelemaekers, as previously mentioned, was a pleasant surprise. The 21-year-old quickly gained the trust of Pioli, fully adapting himself to the manager’s system. The No.56 was helped by Castillejo’s injury, which gave him the chance in the first place.
He even scored a goal in the 5-1 victory against Bologna with a smart finish and was decisive in several games (cross for the own-goal against SPAL, cross for the handball against Lazio away).
The Rossoneri, therefore, didn’t think twice to redeem the midfielder from Anderlecht, who proved to have excellent qualities. He’s a real joker for Pioli, able to play as a right-back and higher up the pitch as well.
He played in the former role at Anderlecht and obviously found great success as a right-winger with Milan this past season. Some players are often described as versatile, but Saeleamekers has actually proved it.
Above all, he has established an excellent relationship with Pioli, who appreciates him a lot and hopes to give him as much time as possible during this long and busy season.
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