One of the missions facing AC Milan in this season finale is to get Santiago Gimenez firing again, after his red-hot start evaporated.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Gimenez introduced himself to the Milan fans with an assist on his debut in the Coppa Italia, a goal on his debut in the league and another in his first start in Serie A at San Siro.
The goals: a nice curling shot in Empoli, with the striker advancing and finishing from just inside the area, then a header on an assist from Leao two centimetres from the goal line. The first was more impressive, the second more about having the instinct of a No.9.
The numbers
From there, nothing more. The brilliant start has slowly vanished, replaced by the weight of responsibilities and the shirt he is wearing, while there have been fewer and fewer opportunities to score in his style.
The general performance levels of the team has not helped, as has the constant changing of players and systems in search of fluidity. What is certain is that Gimenez is being asked to do different things now, including helping in the build-up phase rather than just camping in the penalty area.
The numbers show that the Mexican had 7.7 touches in the opponent’s area in the first part of the 2024-25 season, when he was at Feyenoord. That has practically halved since he arrived at Milan to 4.4.
The shots towards the goal and the chances created have decreased (from 1 to 0.4), while the passes have increased: in the Netherlands he had an average of 7.6 per game, with the Rossoneri it is now just under 10.
The goals go without saying: 16 in 19 games in the first few months at Feyenoord, one every 75 minutes of play; at Milan the return has dropped to three in 13 games, one every 256 minutes. In relation to the value of the transfer fee (€28.5m) a goal costs 9.5.
Milan’s mission
Santiago Gimenez will still have time to repay the investment, while the club will have to put the centre-forward in a position to develop with a new style of play (and a new coach) that allows him to perform at his best.
However, the former Cruz Azul man hasn’t scored in Serie A since February 15, and eight games have passed since then. In three of the last four, including the Coppa Italia derby, the Mexican started on the bench while he was absent from the big win over Udinese due to injury.
From today, when training resumes, he should be with the group. Atalanta and Inter are the next commitments and there are two games that will tell us a lot about where ‘El Bebote’ is at now. Can he do it in Italy, or is the climb from the Eredivisie too big?
