Massimiliano Allegri is giving serious thought to fielding the two Chris’ against Udinese on Saturday night: Christian Pulisic and Christopher Nkunku.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, there are a lot of parallels between the two players. Both went from Germany to London and then to Milan, seeking the right next step for their career. The have played the same role, have the same technical quality. Now, they are team-mates.
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Pulisic was a talent seeking consistency when Milan acquired him from Chelsea in the summer of 2023. He had spent time in the Bundesliga with Dortmund and then in the Premier League, failing to find stability and failing to establish himself among the stars of European football.
Dortmund and Chelsea had agreed a huge deal worth €64m, less than a third of what the Rossoneri spent: €20m plus bonuses. It was a gamble that paid off: Pulisic scores for Milan every 219 minutes, essentially in one out of every three matches.
Nkunku’s impact for Milan has been equally explosive: 52 seconds to win the most contested penalty of the start of this Serie A season (that was then overturned). Christopher is in his fourth domestic league: after PSG, he also spent time in Germany, top scorer in Leipzig, before joining Chelsea.
The figures are identical: €65m paid to the German club by the Blues. The path is similar: their success in the Premier League is compromised by a few physical issues. So, Milan are paying just over half the price: €37m plus bonuses. Like Pulisic, he’s looking for stability and a guaranteed spot.
How would it work?
Udine could mark a new beginning, with Nkunku and Pulisic forming an creative attacking duo. Milan, who were looking for a natural striker all summer, could remodel themselves. Oh, and another strange coincidence: Pulisic and Nkunku are both 177cm.
The idea is there, but it will need to be put into practice during this week’s training sessions. The conditions are present: Rafael Leao is injured, Santiago Gimenez is coming off a hard-working but insufficiently effective performance against Bologna.
In less than a minute, Nkunku was decisive: he won the controversial penalty and was going to be allowed to take it by the chosen penalty takers, Pulisic and Adrien Rabiot. In those final five minutes, the two former Chelsea players found themselves teammates at Milan for the first time. Next time out, they could be together from the start.
The strategy would change: constant switching of positions to keep the defence on their toes and stretch them, with plenty of link-up play. In the future, with Leao’s return, there could be room for everyone in a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1.
The chase
Christopher is a year older than Christian (28 versus 27) but has been chasing him throughout his career. Pulisic arrived in Germany in 2015, Nkunku in 2019. Pulisic moved to London in 2019 and left City in 2023, when Nkunku arrived.
Captain America is in his third season with Milan: 15 goals in his first season, 17 the following year. He’s scored two goals in this new campaign. Nkunku arrived in Milan just two days before the end of the summer transfer window, on August 30th.
The game against Udine could be his first start. He made his last start in the Premier League on April 6th, but he also played the full 90 minutes for Chelsea on July 8th in the Club World Cup semi-final against Fluminense.
At Milanello, he trained with determination and intensity (even on his team-mates’ days off) and might not be able to play a full match, but he’ll be available immediately, and who knows? It seems like it only takes him a minute to make an impact.
We will never see 3 attackers under allegri, so we must park that debate.
At best we will have 2 in some version of a 352 or 3511
At worst we will play 1 attacker as he has done recently with 6 players across the middle
Also lets remember we have 6 midfielders and only 4 attackers so we are not staffed for 3 in attack
Surely at some point Ricci and Jashari will have to play given the money spent
I’m amazed by how many people forget just how Allegri plays. I’m happy about Sunday’s result but Bologna sold all their best players and we didn’t look exactly like world beaters. I’m very excited to see Leao and Nkunku play together though.
Jashari will be out for a while. Ricci might push RLC out (or be in when we rest Modric) . As far as attacking, i’m with you, If we are chasing the game, maybe we will see all 3. I’m hopeful though. The results are the same as before 1-0s , solid defending, nothing flashy. BUT i somehow feel this Allegri is different. He is switching formation, he talks about fluidity . If you pay close attention, last game when Puli came in, we were playing a different formation. idk man, could this be a less rigid Allegri? who knows.
We have yet to see what a full strength Milan looks like under Allegri so I wouldn’t jump to conclusions yet.
Allegri often plays with 3 midfielders. So it’s either a 352 or 433.
I am American, so I will admit that I am biased in favor of Pulisic. But I will also be the first to also admit if Pulisic is not performing. It seems crazy to effectively bench and make a super sub your most consistent goal scorer and creative offensive player over the past two years. That seems to be where Allegri is going.
Also, those wanting to see Leao and Nkunku, almost certainly at Pulisic’s expense, might want to consider that I suspect that both Leao’s and Nkunku’s best case scenario in goals and assists this year is probably no better and likely worse than Pulisic has already achieved twice in row. Talent and potential alone don’t put the ball in the net.
Note also that Santi only ran the most on Sunday because Pulisic did not play from the start – Puli consistently runs the most and tracks back. But, unlike Santi, he puts the damn ball in the net or sets up others.
I won’t get excited till I see this happen, that’s if it even happens.
Remember not long ago, we had the ‘fab 4’ after Felix and Santi arrived in Jan?
Yeah… so let’s not get carried away again by headlines and what ifs.
Right now, we just need to be humble, grind results like how Allegri tends to do.
Set ourselves up well… and then let’s talk about sprinkling some flair here and there once we have momentum.
Let’s take it easy.
Allegri has left everyone guessing, and, that’s good for us. There’s better rotation, and players move in different directions, thus, confusing the opponents. I don’t care who starts, as long as they get the job done.
I could see the 3 attackers but only if Allegri prepares a proper 4 man back line. We can’t go down to 2 mids in a 3421 but we also don’t have concrete enough fullbacks on either side really to play with 4 in the back. So it’s kind of a rock and a hard place scenario at the moment. If certain defenders step up then maybe we can see a 4321 which I think ultimately will be the best attack heavy formation with this current squad. Otherwise, Allegri will stick with the 352 and rotate attackers. That seems more likely for at least the rest of 2025. Maybe after xmas things change but it looks like it may take a while until Allegri feels comfortable with a 4 in the back.
Pulisic is not being made a permanent sub. It was common sense rotation. He will find a place for Pulisic. This article may be the first evidence of that.
I would love to see Puli and Nkunku start together. I hope this article knows what its saying.
Oli, did you seriously just right that “Nkunkus impact for Milan has been equally explosive”? He’s played 10 minutes. If that’s what we’re judging on than Okafor was the next Messi! 🤣
“Write”
The real jockeying for position will begin when Leao returns.