With the midfield being rebuilt around him, Youssouf Fofana hopes to play a leading role under Massimiliano Allegri as he did last season.
As this morning’s edition of Corriere dello Sport recalls, Fofana featured in 52 of the 55 games played by Milan last season. The only three absences were not because of selection either, but rather different circumstances.
In the first game of the season the Frenchman was presented at San Siro during half-time, in the return derby on February 2 he was suspended, while in Milan-Bologna on May 9 he was out because of an injured foot.
In short, when available, Fofana has always set foot on the pitch. Will this be the case with the midfield revolution that Igli Tare and Massimiliano Allegri are implementing during this transfer window?
Fofana’s role and characteristics
The definitive answer, as always, will be given only by the pitch. Last season, Fofana went through a period of constant use (always a starter with Paulo Fonseca without practically ever resting) and tougher periods under Sergio Conceição.
During those times he was benched even in important matches, also due to legitimate physical fatigue, only to then come on during the game. But a prediction on his future use can already be made: the signings coincide with the other two thirds of the midfield three.
Tare has sought and purchased someone to order things in front of the defence (Samuele Ricci), will bring a multi-role champion like Luka Modric to Milan and is negotiating the transfer of a mezzala, Ardon Jashari. The opposite mezzala is a shirt that has probably already been assigned, to Fofana.
In fact, Milan will need to complete the department with a man who runs: Ricci is a surveyor of the situation, Jashari is a box to box player, while Modric has no need for technical and tactical introductions.
Fofana has the characteristics that are missing: athleticism, combativeness, ability to immediately recover the ball with an aggressive pressing phase or with body-to-body duels in one half of the pitch. Even for Allegri, therefore, the Frenchman will be practically irreplaceable.
If necessary, his replacements could be a copy of sorts: Warren Bondo has similar qualities in terms of ball recovery, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is a man more oriented towards attack and decidedly less effective in the defensive phase, but does have physicality.
