Having returned from their preseason tour of Asia and Australia, Milan are now preparing for a final couple of friendlies before August 17, the first official match of the 2025-26 season against Bari in the Coppa Italia.
In Asia and Australia, Allegri had the opportunity to study the team, from the veterans to the new arrivals. The player who seems to have convinced the most, as reported by Corriere dello Sport (via MilanPress), is Ricci.
The former Torino man was deployed in front of the defence in all three matches, as a holding midfielder. In the 2025-26 season, Milan will need to reduce the number of goals conceded, and the presence of a player like Ricci could help the rearguard be less vulnerable.
Therefore, Milan will have a new metronome. The No.4’s task will be to win back as many balls as possible in the non-possession phase and be as effective as possible in build-up play. His game will be more based around being tidy in possession, leaving the real playmaking to Luka Modric.
Ricci’s most striking characteristic is the ease with which he moves across the midfield, given that in the first three friendlies, Allegri included him in both a 4-3-3 and a 3-5-2. The new signing, therefore, has hit the ground running, as his rocket of a strike against Perth showed.
