AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli was hoping to have more answers regarding the role of attacking midfielder, but there are more question marks than certainties.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have published a report looking at the three options that have been used as pure playmakers, namely the summer signing Charles De Ketelaere, the new addition Yacine Adli and the loanee Brahim Diaz.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Starting with De Ketelaere, the Belgian is currently generating average of chances occasions per game in Serie A, but it is clear that the Rossoneri fans and probably the management expect after an 18-goal season with Club Brugge and an investment of €35m including bonuses.
At the moment De Ketelaere is in doubt for the match against Monza even though he trained with the rest of the squad today. Pioli plans to have him back for Saturday, but at the moment it’s more no than yes. So far he has played 618 minutes in all competitions with just one assist to show.
There are examples of patience paying dividends, such as Theo Hernandez who had been pointed out by Giampaolo as being ‘undisciplined’, Rafael Leao who was inconsistent then became last year’s Serie A MVP, while Sandro Tonali grew immensely after a tough first season.
Then there is Brahim Diaz, who is now a known quantity despite his young age. Milan brought him back to San Siro in the summer of 2021 on a two-year loan with an option to buy set at €22m. The Spaniard shows flashes of brilliance but has virtually zero consistency.
Against Juventus – admittedly playing more on the right winger – he decided the match with a dribble of 50 metres, beating a couple of players and scoring, but in Verona he did not shine and lasted just 45 minutes. He has 515 minutes played so far with two goals and an assist.
Finally, Yacine Adli. Pioli decided to start him against Verona, but the Frenchman did not take advantage of the opportunity. At the moment he is the one who has played the least of all, with 114 minutes amassed in four games.
He is not in the Champions League squad list, so he can focus on the league, while Pioli continues to praise him in public for his technique and hard work. He was signed two summers ago and left on loan at Bordeaux for last season, which ended with relegation, so the 21-year-old clearly needs more time to adapt while the head coach seeks certainties in the No.10 role.
Start CDK
Bring Brahim of the bench
Send Adli on loan
Yes
Adli is different type of no 10
he likes to move into space, make short one-twos and play long with his vision
He is so different from diaz and CDK
but i love cdk more though
I believe we are not fair to Adli with this just few minutes to justify him is not right. I am optimistic if pioli continues to concentrate with all the 3 play makers definitely will going to reach potential we are talking about. Milan needs to patience and optimistic.
CDK will explode next season
Patient is the key
Fans needs to stop giving pressure to CDK and Adli and start gives them time to adapt!
Some people just forgot that Theo, Leao, and Tonali wasn’t good in their first season with Milan.
CDK
Diaz
Krunic
I would put pobega and tonali ahead of adli but some wise ass would reply saying they are both DM
Tbh even as natural DMs they are better than adli