Tuttosport: From sellable to starter – Pavlovic enjoys resurgence under Conceicao | OneFootball

At times it seemed as though Strahinja Pavlovic would be leaving AC Milan in the winter transfer window, but now he seems to have a starting spot nailed down.

As this morning’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanPress) recalls, Pavlovic arrived at Milan in the last summer transfer window for €18m after being strongly pursued by the directors who believed he was an ideal profile because of his left-footedness as well as his physicality and aggression.

However, after getting opportunities early in the campaign, Pavlovic was barely playing by the time that Paulo Fonseca left. He disappeared completely from the rotations, occasionally entering at the end of the game in cases of injury emergencies.

“He needs to find more balance, he needs to grow. He didn’t play a game without errors,” the then-Milan coach had said in a press conference, implying that he would not use him until some of that aggression was tamed.

The arrival of Conceicao levelled the playing field again, and despite a troubled January with many rumours of a possible farewell, the Serbian reiterated his desire to remain with the Rossoneri and repay the faith of the management.

He felt that he had something to prove, and the end result of his mission to stake a claim is that at the moment it is even difficult to think about the Milan defence without his presence as one of the two centre-backs.

Pavlovic has been one of the best and most consistent performers in the past month or so, showing maximum concentration mixed with the passion and grinta that made him an early fan favourite.