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Theo-esque runs and impressive dribbling: Why Milan could promote Andrea Bozzolan

By SempreMilan -

Andrea Bozzolan is the star left-back of the Primavera team and in recent weeks, some reports have suggested that he could be promoted to the first team. Based on his performances, one can understand why. 

Bozzolan got to play with the first team a bit in during the winter pre-season in Dubai, and most Milan fans were pleasantly surprised. Since the start of the year, he has continued his good form with the Primavera.

In 26 appearances this season, he has amassed five assists and he has also been a key player for Ignazio Abate’s men in both phases of the game. Six days ago, Calciomercato.com reported that he could be promoted to the first team next season.

So, with that in mind, what type of player is Bozzolan? Scout7Calcio has given us the rundown…

Strengths 

His biggest strength, without a doubt, is his pace. The expectation when he wins the ball is thus that he will start counter-attacks. He does it multiple times every single game and he reminds us of Theo Hernandez. Just like the Frenchman, Bozzolan is able to control the ball even at full sprint.

He also has great dribbling skills, which come in handy a lot in the attacks when he starts from deep. However, he still needs to work on his finishing, as he’s extremely dangerous with his pace/dribbling and his crosses.

Another massive strength of his, as already alluded to, is his crossing. Bozzolan can make pin-point crosses into the spaces his teammates run into, which is an example of his great vision.

Bozzolan already has a very good physique to stand strong against any opponent in order to win or defend the ball. In the clip below, from the UEFA Youth League, he easily wins the duel and starts his dribbling to go into the box and win a corner for his team.

In this clip, we first want to only display his raw pace because that’s important for the next strength of his (his Recovery Pace). Here you can see that after winning the ball, he gets to the ball before the opponent who even has a shorter distance.

Now why is the raw pace important for his defending? He can play with a very high line and still always keep up with the fast wingers. Here in this clip, a ball gets played behind the defensive line, and Bozzolan easily keeps up and wins it.

He loves to get involved in the attack, and when he does he’s very calm even under pressure. Here he receives a high ball and gets under pressure, he could try to instantly cross it, but he lobs the ball over the defender calmly to dribble into the box.

Conclusion

Bozzolan is a great talent, no doubt, and many people are already talking about having him as the deputy for Theo. One can see why, but at his age, he still has weaknesses that need to be eliminated.

In the defence, he often clears the ball rather than showing off his qualities, as we have seen when he is under pressure in the attack. Perhaps he feels more comfortable in the final third, but he can still improve in that sense.

He will need more playing time with senior players to learn this and that’s why a loan might come in handy. Only then can we see if his development will continue on the same trajectory. Maybe his finishing will improve, or he will rely more on crosses rather than cutting inside.

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Tags AC Milan Andrea Bozzolan

9 Comments

  1. Milan badly need to blood some of these promising young players at some stage – or at least send them out on loan. I think a year’s loan outside Italy (say to Ligue 1 or the Championship) would be better for them than Serie B – character-building.

  2. Milan should not rush to sign tommaso baldanzi Milan should not make mistakes that would cost them something is not better we sign an attacker very confident and can do the work in times of creativity finding space

  4. Even Pioli’s reluctance to trust new/young players doesn’t work against Bozzolan, in my view.

    Of all of the left back options referred to on SM, Carlos Augusto at Monza is the only guy I see Pioli trusting. He doesn’t want to come here to be deputy to Theo, and we don’t have the money to spend on him as a deputy anyway.

    Parisi is wildly overrated and will come with a price tag based on that flawed assessment. The Lecce left back is solid enough but I’m not sure he wants to come here and sit on the bench.

    Augusto aside, we’d be spending quite a bit of money for the 6 months it would take Bozzolan to get up to scratch. I’d be staggered if he can’t get to and exceed the level of Parisi and co.

    Save the money, use it on players who will make a difference, such as Scamacca and Zaniolo.

    1. I agree totally. And if Bozzolan ends up anywhere near as good as Theo we can rest easy knowing that when Theo inevitably leaves in 2 years we have his replacement ready to go and that he’d be from our own Primavera.

  6. Pure talent. But With mister still at the helm, his entourage might as well start looking for his next destination. Same for every primavera player unfortunately. Even those in the first team are ‘not ready yet’ so one can just imagine.

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