Several Primavera players got the chance in AC Milan’s friendlies against Arsenal and Liverpool earlier this week. There were three of them, however, that stood out and really expressed themselves on the pitch.
Milan lost both of the friendlies (2-1 and 4-1 respectively) but were able to give the youngsters (and some outcasts) playing time. Performance-wise, there were three Primavera players that stood out a little extra.
Starting at the back, Andrea Bozzolan really impressed as he got roughly 20 minutes of playing in each of the games. Unlike we see with many youngsters that get their first chance, he dared to drive forward with the ball and did very well.
It’s clear that he’s taken some inspiration from Theo Hernandez as he’s also very good at those bursting runs, keeping control of the ball and getting something out of it. It’s still early, but soon he could perhaps become the deputy for Theo.
The second player is Gabriele El Hilali, who got a little more playing time (roughly 55 minutes over both games). He especially impressed against Liverpool, playing with good technique and also striking the bar with a lovely finish. He converted his penalty in the shootout calmly, and it’s not strange that he’s one of the key players in the Primavera.
Finally, we have to mention Marko Lazetic as well. He played 35 minutes against Arsenal and almost the full game against Liverpool. His first touch is especially impressive and his movement is smart, but he’s still inexperienced clearly (lacking a little strength and decision-making).
He scored a wonderful panenka penalty against Arsenal so there’s no doubt he’s very confident, he just needs to take one more step before exploding. Perhaps he can do that on loan.
Lazetic not impressive. He has some talents but doesn’t seem to have any particular strength. Not very fast, not incredibly technical but not bad, not very strong yet but could get there in some years… he’s young and could become excellent so we’ll see but I see less in him than the others for the time being. Needs some PT and a loan
It’s weird the players that get article time on this site (Pobega, Adli, Lazetic). They didn’t take Alesi who imo is better than Lazetic (now they are different players but Alesi at wing is better thanLazetic as a striker). The Primavera players taken to Dubai weren’t the best of the lot. Coubis for instance is one of their best Primavera players but wasn’t taken
Why Coubis didn’t got called along other top primavera players because Pioli doesn’t want those boys got injured and makes Abate works harder.
Currently Milan primavera at 12th place and Abate needs his best players to get better results.
I agree. Alesi and Coubis seem to be the most promising. However Bozzolan does seem good too
Considering we have no credible backup at left back Bozzolan should be drafted into first team immediately
And what about Abate primavera team? He needs Bozzolan to help the team who right now stuck at 12th place.
If the team are 12th, the coach is a bigger problem. I’ve watched them play in the youth UCL, they’re awful. There’s no gameplan.
The first team is more important.
We need to give our youth a chance. Even top premiership teams like Liverpool regularly give minutes to their youth players.
For some reason in Italy they wait until they are 21 or 22.
If they are good enough they are old enough