‘I didn’t have a single doubt’ – 16-year-old Camarda to get first senior Milan start vs. Cagliari | OneFootball

With Alvaro Morata unavailable for the trip to face Cagliari tomorrow, Paulo Fonseca has confirmed that Francesco Camarda will get the nod.

Morata’s injury in training yesterday certainly complicated the plans, but the thinking was that Fonseca would be fine picking from the strikers available. Many believed Tammy Abraham, Luka Jovic or maybe even Noah Okafor would get the nod, but the coach has other plans.

Fonseca spoke in his pre-match press conference at Milanello today and he was asked a couple of different questions about who will start up front in Sardinia, confirming that it will be Camarda.

Will Tammy Abraham play tomorrow?

“I can tell you right away because you’ll know after half an hour (laughs). Camarda will play tomorrow.”

Why Camarda? Is he excited? Can you explain the choice?

“For me it’s not surprising. He works with us every day. I think everyone at the club believes in him a lot, he works well and understands the role well. For me players have no age, they have quality. And he shows every day that he has quality.

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“Morata has a very specific role at the moment. Morata is not always a striker, but many times he is a player who unlocks passing lanes. I think Camarda is more ready than Abraham to play this role at the moment. And I have to say that Abraham is not completely well but he is better.

“I have total faith in Camarda. He trained very well. He is the age he is, but he has great maturity. He is brave, he works hard for the team defensively. Yesterday we had this problem with Morata. I didn’t have a single doubt about who should play tomorrow.”

The 16-year-old has become somewhat of a mainstay in the senior squad in recent weeks, receiving several first team call-ups whilst also having some minutes for the Futuro side. Getting a first start at 16 years, 7 months and 27 days can only be good in the grand scheme.