With Ismael Bennacer forcing his AC Milan exit, the Rossoneri needed a replacement and they opted for Warren Bondo – is it the right move?
Deadline day was hectic for Milan, and this was largely as a result of Bennacer’s attempt at forcing through a move to Olympique Marseille, who had made attempts for the Algerian in the summer.
This led to the arguably premature signing of Warren Bondo, the Frenchman was already a target for the Rossoneri, but his signing was not expected with Bennacer’s recovery coinciding with the mercato.
Bondo is a player known for some time to the management, especially Geoffrey Moncada, who has always had a thing for the French market. But with Bennacer departing, a move was accelerated. However, has it come at the right or wrong time?
Background
Bondo’s career started at the age of four and he bounced around several clubs until the age of 15, where Nancy picked him up. Then, a year later in 2019, the winger signed his first professional contract with the club, becoming the youngest player ever to do so.
His time in France saw the youngster predominantly play on the wing, and this much was the same when playing with the youth ranks with the National Team. In 2020, the winger made his professional debut for the club, playing in Ligue 2. However, he would not spend too much longer with the club.
Just two years later, at the end of his contract, the midfielder opted for a move away with Nancy relegated to the third division in France, and this is around the time that Milan seemingly became interested, but Bondo instead opted to move to Monza, likely due to the guarantee of move game time.
The Biancorossi had just earned a position in the top flight of Serie A, and in the first six months, he gradually started to move more centrally, despite his playing time being rather limited. Due to this, he took a six-month loan to Serie B in the second half of the season.
On return to Monza, the youngster struggled for minutes initially, but as 2024 approached the Frenchman became a key part of the squad, and played almost every game in the final few months of the year. In fact, the midfielder only missed one game through suspension in the latter part of the season, showing his importance to Raffaele Palladino’s team.
Throughout the summer, the Rossoneri once again became interested, and Bondo’s name was mentioned frequently, but a move for Youssouf Fofana meant that the Frenchman’s addition was not needed. Then, things changed slightly.
Ismael Bennacer seemed like a potential departure, but the timings never worked out. Then, the Algerian got injured at the start of the campaign, which showed a need for a new midfielder, and Bondo’s name began to float around the club once again.
Despite this, as Bennacer closed a return, there were suggestions that the club would not add midfield reinforcement in the January mercato as the Algerian was returning, which was deemed to be a ‘new signing’ in itself.
Nothing changed until the end of the window, with Bennacer’s minutes under Sergio Conceicao becoming rather frequent. However, things changed at the last minute, as after the Derby della Madonnina, reports emerged stating that there had been a disagreement between the duo.
As a result, the Algerian began forcing through a move to France which never occurred in the summer, causing the Rossoneri to make a move, and things with Bondo moved rather quickly.
The Frenchman’s agent was at Casa Milan within a few hours of the rumours emerging, and the midfielder signed permanently on the dotted line late on Deadline Day.
With the National Team, Bondo’s significance has not really shown too much, and he has yet to make a permanent cap for the senior side despite being heavily involved with the Youth teams in recent years.
His journey with Les Blues began in 2019 when the youngster made his debut for the Under 16 side, and in the four years since then he has made 31 appearances across the ranks, most importantly including a part in the 2022 UEFA European Championship. The young France team reached the Semi-Final of the competition, falling short to Israel.
With no minutes with the Youth ranks since 2023, the future of his National Team days are not yet known, considering he could also choose to represent DR Congo or Congo Republic through his parents. A move to Milan and his exciting talent could see his position in the French midfield potentially rise, though.
However, with Les Blues’ midfield as stacked as it is, there is a chance that the youngster looks for a nationality change.
Strengths and weaknesses
Bondo is very much at the start of his career and his recent move to central midfield is another reason why his career has so much room left to go. At 21, he is only going to grow further in central midfield, although fans would be forgiven if they had a slight bit of deja vu about the signing, with his attributes somewhat comparable to Yunus Musah.
However, Musah’s career had seen him wider for much longer than Bondo, whereas the Frenchman has played the majority of his professional career in central midfield.
The former Monza midfielder has a heap of strengths to him, though he is by no means a finished product.
As a Bennacer replacement, Milan needed to recruit someone who is comfortable playing at the base of midfield, or in a double pivot – both roles have been common for the Algerian, so his position within the squad must be replicated.
For Monza, Bondo has regularly been deployed in a midfield two in a 3-4-2-1 or even in a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1, so he is more than capable of filling this role when it is required, especially considering he is set to be a deputy for Youssouf Fofana, rather than a starter.
As priorities go, the 21-year-old has been deployed in a deeper role for the Biancorossi, which is exactly what is needed for the squad at the moment, as can be seen in his heat map, via Sofascore.
Monza are, respectfully, a weaker team in the division, and they are likely to go down this season, so Bondo’s stats from this season can arguably be taken with a pinch of salt, surrounded with players of more quality, his stats, imaginably, would improve.
With the Diavolo, there is a good chance that the wider midfield traits become a larger part of his game rather than the imaginably strict profile asked of him with Monza.
He is probably not going to be a mainstay in the next six months, or probably in the next season either, it must be admitted. However, he can still provide valuable cover for the side when it is needed, especially given how much he has shone in Serie A.
As it turns out, Milan were only one of many suitors, so it is a huge coup, and as already stated, he is still so young. For a €10 million fee, the club are likely not going to lose much on their investment, whereas the scale for profit is much, much larger.
Midfielders normally come into their prime in their late 20s, however, being in the environment of the Rossoneri may accelerate that more which is definitely the dream of the club.
Statistical comparison
Compared to other signings, Bondo’s addition is not one that needs to hit the ground running straight away so to speak. Instead, he will have time to grow into the team and into a role, and he will likely struggle to get minutes ahead of Fofana from the off.
Nevertheless, we have taken advantage of Fbref’s comparison tool to look at Bennacer’s Scudetto-winning season and the current stats of Fofana – it is worth noting that these stats are done in a total figure, rather than per 90 (though it would be quite impressive if the trio had/were making 50 challenges per game).
Starting with his defensive traits, which is likely to be the main focus of the French midfielder. Fofana’s stats are quite similar to Bondo’s with the ex-Monza midfielder making more tackles in the defensive phase than his fellow compatriot.
In addition to this, he has also made a similar number of blocks to the Monegasque man, in half a season, and by the end of the year, both should have progressed further than Bennacer’s at the end of the year.
The majority of touches from all three players has come in the middle third, which is to be expected. However, Bondo also has a fair share of touches in the defensive and attacking thirds – despite lacking the contributions to assist this. Though, this again could relate to the poorer quality surrounding the midfielder.
Although he operates in a deeper position, Fofana still advances, which Bennacer regularly did too, so this is an attribute that Bondo also must be confident in, and he does.
The Frenchman is confident with the ball at his feet, making almost as many take-ons as Bennacer did in a full season, but he has done so at a lower rate, yet still a higher one than his now teammate (just a 6.5% difference).
He also has quite a knack for progressing, and he prefers to carry the ball forward, rather than making progressive passes per se. In addition to this, Bondo does not receive the ball in progressive areas too much, which is likely due to his more regimented role with the Biancorossi.
Once again relating to his role with Monza, the midfielder does not make as many shot creating actions per game, averaging almost one less per game than Fofana, and almost two less than Bennacer in the 2021/22 season.
You could argue though, that his stats are more about the quality of chances than the quantity, as his ‘conversion’ rate is only marginally behind those of Fofana and Bennacer – but once again these numbers could be related to the poorer quality around him.
It is also vital to remember another key factor – Bondo is 21 at the time of joining whilst being compared to a 24-year old Bennacer – who had already been with Milan for two seasons – and a 26-year-old Fofana. Hypothetically, the former Monza midfielder should progress at a decent rate over the next few years, which should also see his statistical numbers increase.
Conclusion
We must look at this deal in a number of ways. At the time of the move, Milan could have easily made a panic buy, but this does not feel like this at all. In fact, it feels far from that, with the club seemingly making a calculated move.
There had already been suggestions about the club’s interest in the mercato, but nothing came to fruition until deadline day where circumstances meant it became a needed area of reinforcement.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman arrives with a very high ceiling that may rise further now he has joined Milan. However, that talent must be nurtured, rather than being rushed into a progression path which is not feasible.
Given he has already played more than 3,000 minutes in Serie A, he is clearly ready to be thrusted into the situation if needed, but pressure cannot be piled onto him too soon.
Transfer rating: 8/10
I’m dead excited about Bondo to be honest. I know a few people used his name to highlight a lack of ambition and yes, Ricci would have solved a problem straight away (and hopefully we’ll get him in the summer), but I really like this lad!
I’ve nothing against Musah but the comparison ends at strong and athletic. Bondo has a lovely positional sense about him. For a man of his age he plays the spaces very, very well – that’s proper high IQ midfield stuff. He’s one of those players that seems to have an instinct for where the ball is going to be in a couple of passes time – he reminds me of Gattuso in that respect.
We are obviously a step up but if he can play his game at this higher level I think we bagged a world beater.
My exact thoughts too, among all our signings this summer for me he has the highest ceiling to grow while contributing right away. Let’s also not forget he has a very good experience playing in the Serie A. French CM/DMs are never cheap, and at the 10m price been quoted, I consider this a major coup.
Good article and I feel the same way. A player who can add depth in the short term and the potential to grow into a proper star down the road. Now just swap RLC for Ricci and bam Milan have a complete midfield with a lot of depth
Bondo is young and has potential to become a quality player. He needs good coaching and experience. Sergio should start him vs bottom table teams to get experience without too much pressure.
I’m surprised by the optimism here both in the article and the comments. Obviously I hope he’s a great success and 10mn is relatively cheap in this market.
Feel like we’re getting carried away on euphoria after a couple of top signings in key positions (Gimenez at 9 and Walker replacing Emerson)
His stats aren’t that good but he does seem to like a tackle. Still if we got Ricci in summer I could see Fofana and Ricci being enough and Bondo becoming a bit part player.
How can you give such a rating to a winger transformed to dmf and he hardly played 6months in new role.
Crazy thinking guys😆😆🤣🤣