A lot of AC Milan fans – and probably the head coach Paulo Fonseca – have been asking the same question in recent weeks: where has the real Theo Hernandez gone?
Tuttosport (via MilanNews) are also asking the question this morning, analysing the disappointing season so far of the French full-back who seems like a distant relative of the player who in recent years has been one of Milan’s strongest.
There have been too many ups and downs for the former Real Madrid man, who is not performing at the level we have become accustomed to, except on a few rare occasions. It’s now clear that ‘something is wrong’, as per the paper.
Theo is a player who has little impact and makes a lot of mistakes, which is the polar opposite of what he had become in his previous peak with the Rossoneri. What’s behind his decline? Some blame Paolo Maldini’s sacking in the summer of 2023, while others point the finger at Paulo Fonseca.
There is the accusation that he and Fonseca ‘didn’t click’ because the new coach asks him to push forward less, which obviously goes against both his intuitions and the previous instructions from Stefano Pioli.
There are also those – like France coach Didier Deschamps – who talk about ‘psychological tiredness’. During the recent break, he said: “This year Theo isn’t at the same level as in the past. All players at a certain point can have a slightly more complicated period, there’s always been physical tiredness, but the thing that’s very difficult to measure is psychological tiredness.”
There are then some off-field situations that are not keeping him calm, just as the issue of the contract renewal is certainly affecting him. The negotiation has been going on for some time, but for the moment an agreement has not yet been found between the parties.
The dialogue will continue in the coming weeks, but it is clear that if an agreement is not found, the summer of 2025 could become a natural crossroads. All parties would be forced into a reflection: sell to raise money, or stay and run the risk of him leaving for free?
Sell him.
Lol u need to improve your knowledge. Sell him and buy who ? Ballo toure ? Look. Theo is good they been struggling since Maldini left then Pioli after . Loftus been playing also bad under Fonseca compare to Pioli
I think the problem with Theo lies with one of, a combination of or all of the following reasons:
– Theo was brought by Maldini under Elliot and nurtured by Pioli in a time where he was underappreciated and never played a game with the French NT. The departure of all of the above must have weighted on him in some ways or others. It’s not a secret that Theo didn’t take Maldini’s departure very well, and he probably didn’t like the fact that Pioli was sacked and finally I don’t think he is convinced by RedBird’s project or that he likes Fonseca.
– Every since the 2020/21 season, Theo played at minimum 3500 minutes per season with AC Milan alone et every since 2022 he became a regular in the french NT starting almost every time in either World cup, Euro, Nation League,… There is no deputy for him in AC Milan which means that he starts even against low level teams and often plays the full length of the game. To illustrate this point even further, I will make a comparison with Di Marco from Inter. Last season Di Marco played 40 games with Inter while Theo played 46 games with us, so normally the difference between them should be 6×90’=540′ yet Di Marco played less than 2700 minutes in total while Theo played more than 4000 minutes. This season also, Theo has only played one more game than Di Marco while already playing 200 more minutes. The reason is, Inzaghi often subs Di Marco around the 70th or 80th minute of the game when the result is secured, while Theo always played the full 90 minutes. Sooner or later, this will lead to accumulative fatigue, both psychological, mental and physical.
– There is the question of Theo’s renewal with Milan. While it’s difficult to assess this one due to conflictual informations, but it must influence Theo in some capacities. Does Theo want to stay or does he want to leave for a team where his salary would be higher and his chances of winning titles would also be guaranteed ? It is often noted that players who experience problems in contract renewals tend to underperform. This is by no means an excuse.
– While Fonseca uses the same 4-2-3-1 that worked with Theo, he is instructing him to defend more and push forward less. Under Pioli, both fullbacks didn’t push forward in the same manner, Calabria generally stayed deeper while Theo had more freedom to push forward. Under Fonseca both fullbacks mimick each other. Although this point can’t be the only reason, considering that even Deschamps, who uses different tactics, noticed that Theo is not the same.
– Personal life. This might sound a bit cliché, but there is more to a player’s perfomance than actually just football issues. Maybe some personal problems are getting in the way of Theo’s performances ?
You have said it all. Fonseca should start by giving Theo rest. He should avoid playing him every 90 minutes. Terraciano has proven to be quite good, he should give Theo a respite.
Theo should sort out the contract issues quickly so he can focus on football.
I swear you read my thoughts most times
Couldn’t have put it better. I think a combination of those exact factors are a cause of his drop. The personal life might be the biggest one that we don’t know about.
Just one minor point of correction which doesn’t take away from the point anyway…is that Theo has played 4000+ minutes for club and country the last 4 years. It’s more than anyone in the team and yes it’s more than any left back in the world (the only one that’s kinda put up his numbers a few years ago was Robertson). So when people say oh other full backs play the same minutes why doesn’t he or get a game or two rest will solve 4-5 years worth of being ran into the ground, they’re clearly wrong. You don’t even need to look at the stats to know Theo’s been overused and overworked
Poor little Theo. Poor, poor Theo. Nothing is ever the player’s fault.
Aww poor little K poor little K. Can’t handle the stats staring you in the face again?
So a player went from being one of, if not the best lb in the world to this and he decided not to play all of a sudden? Ha
Also if you read what Giga wrote, yes part of it is the player but it’s a combination of things both him and externally that interplay with each other
“Does Theo want to stay”
What a silly question. Everything suggests he has already left the club mentally. He’s not staying so everyone just please to dreaming. The extension isn’t coming.
*just pleast stop dreaming
Everyone playing bad under Fonseca even Loftus isn’t performing well as he did with Pioli. The players don’t look happier from the start of the games .
Everyone? Pulisic, Gabbia, Reijnders?
You could also add Maignan and Fofana to the mix.
It’s funny that among the players you’ve named, only Gabbia played the full preseason under Fonseca. All the others, including those I’ve named, missed either partially or entierly.
Also Pulisic played well under Fonseca as a RW, but every since Fonseca put him as a CAM his goal contribution and performances overall have dropped. He went from scoring game in game out to scoring one goal which was against Slovan Bratislava.
Fonseca got messed up. He was supposed to stop conceding goals from the right flank by replacing Pulisic with Musah but instead we’re now scoring zero goals from there and conceding match winners. And he can’t even see what’s happening.
Fonseca must be really proud of himself.
People overreact when player is not in form, and overhyple players when they are playing good. While it’s naturl that players are going through those phases. And on top of that people rpomanticize the past. Truth is Theo is how he’s always been. His play style is always hit and miss, but when he cuts through the defence with his runs it’s easier to turn the blind eye on the mistakes he makes.
Theo should get an early mid season holiday or something, so he can regain fitness and lose his fatigue. That’s pretty much impossible though, so hopefully Donseca rests him more this week.