As of late, all of AC Milan’s midfielders have played very well and Stefano Pioli is, of course, happy with the situation. It will soon get a lot tougher, though, with two of them leaving for the AFCONs.
Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie will take part in the tournament for Algeria respectively Ivory Coast. It will take place between January and February and they are certain to miss at least a handful of games, which isn’t ideal.
Pioli will rely on Sandro Tonali and Tiemopue Bakayoko as the remaining midfielders, while Rade Krunic can only play in the position. During today’s presser, he touched on the topic and admitted that it will be a January emergency.
“Bakayoko? He is definitely better, he had difficulties at the beginning because he arrived with a less than optimal condition. He has verticality, physicality, he’s strong. It’s clear that in the midfield I can choose easily, I have great players. From here to January there are still many matches left, then we will also be ready to face the January emergency,” he stated.
It remains to be seen if Milan will do anything on the market to address, perhaps by bringing back Yacine Adli early from his loan at Bordeaux. It’s also possible, though, that they could settle with the aforementioned trio for those games.
READ MORE: Pioli opts for Bakayoko in Milan’s clash vs. Sassuolo – the XI in full
