Doubts, obvious gaps and the centrepiece: Completing Milan’s midfield jigsaw

SempreMilan

·17 de marzo de 2025

Doubts, obvious gaps and the centrepiece: Completing Milan’s midfield jigsaw

AC Milan will make some big decisions ahead of the 2025-26 season, ones that will determine the near and potentially distant future course of the club.

The initial two-step has already been outlined. Firstly, Milan are looking for a new sporting director to join the current management following Antonio D’Ottavio’s exit in December. Geoffrey Moncada should return to being a chief scout, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s influence redirected slightly.

OneFootball Videos

From there, the director will have to begin planning how the squad will look for next season, and that includes picking the right head coach. A number of candidates continue to be mentioned as potential replacements for Sergio Conceicao, and it will dictate things such as formation and playing style.

The new director and manager will have the responsibility of making joint assessments on the squad including those who are to be a crucial part of the plans moving forward, those who offers might be listened to and those who are actively offloaded.

Perhaps the department that continues to draw the most scrutiny and debate is the midfield for Milan, currently consisting of Warren Bondo, Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yunus Musah and Tijjani Reijnders, in alphabetical order by surname.

At present the midfield jigsaw appears to be incomplete, who stands to gain from a potential reshuffle, whose days could well be numbered and what exactly is missing?

The centrepiece

Tijjani Reijnders is having a simply outstanding campaign for Milan, and is in the discussion for player of the season. He netted four goals last season across all competitions after signing from AZ Alkmaar, but his tally for the current campaign already stands at 13 goals, and we are only in mid-March.

With his next goal, the 26-year-old will surpass Franck Kessie to become the central midfielder with the most goals in a single season in the history of the club from 1986 to today, so from the Silvio Berlusconi era onwards.

The Dutchman has quite simply become an all-round midfielder, with his creativity, his dribbling, his range of passing and now his killer instinct. It is not too outrageous to state that it is perhaps between him and Nicolo Barella for the title of best midfielder in the league.

Milan paid €20.5m to AZ Alkmaar in the summer of 2023 but today his market value could be over €70m. The good news is he is not for sale and just extended until 2030 with a pay rise to €3.5m net per year, so the new director and coach can plan to build around him.

Image: AC Milan

The newest piece

Warren Bondo arrived at Milan on deadline day in the winter transfer window with the label of being deputy to Youssouf Fofana, in essence a defensive-minded midfielder whose more important tasks might well be out of possession.

What is strange though is that it took him so long to see the field under Conceicao. Firstly the Frenchman arrived with an injury which didn’t help his initial adaptation period, and then the coach simply preferred others. That is until the last two rounds.

Bondo started from the beginning in the 3-2 win over Lecce and was replaced after just over an hour by Joao Felix. His debut was generally regarded as positive even if the game situation was bleak when he came off. Against Como on Saturday he struggled a bit more, getting a yellow card and coming off at half-time.

It is far too early to make any kind of definitive judgement on Bondo, but he has age (21) and time (over 10 games remaining) to navigate towards showing his true position in the midfield tapestry moving forward.

Formation will be important for him in 2025-26. If the new coach prefers a three-man midfield he could try convert to being a full-time defensive midfielder or play more as a mezzala, though the gut feeling at present is that he could work in a double pivot alongside the right kind of profile.

The mystery piece

Youssouf Fofana arrived during the most recent summer transfer window and there was a lot of optimism regarding what he could bring in terms of balance, potentially aiding the transition to a 4-3-3 system.

Under Paulo Fonseca there is no doubting that he was one of the first names on the team sheet. In fact, Fofana went on a run of 31 straight starts which ended on January 26, so it would be fair to say he worked overtime.

What brought the streak to an end? Conceicao’s arrival reset the hierarchies and – despite being a start in the first few games under the new coach – the Frenchman now seems to have found himself with more of a marginal role.

The ex-Monaco man has started just four of the last nine games. It could be for tactical reasons, but might also be a symptom of the fact that he has played 41 games in all competitions from August to today, obtaining a total playing time that has already exceeded 3,000 minutes.

It feels correct to presume that Fofana will be the third fixed point of Milan’s midfield in 2025-26, though in what form remains to be seen. Could he be a box-to-box player like in Ligue 1? Will he be expected to anchor the pivot/three again? The new coach will have a big say, as will the mercato.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

The piece that doesn’t quite fit

Yunus Musah arrived alongside Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (more to come on him) in the 2023 summer mercato as part of the trio expected to rebuild the department following Sandro Tonali’s sale to Newcastle.

The truth is that Musah has been somewhat of a nomadic presence so far. At 22 years of age he has plenty of very useful minutes in his legs of his development in Serie A, and yet after over 18 months nobody – including the coach – seems to be any closer to nailing down a specific role for him.

In fact, the USA international has played at least five positions since arriving and that is an alibi that is very much in his favour. What works against him though is performances like on Saturday vs. Como, when he missed a huge early chance, was erratic in general and left the field amid jeers.

Whether that reaction from the home crowd – one which generally claims to prioritise effort and enterprise – was warranted is another discussion. That being said, it shows that if Musah were a stock then this season he has been in sharp decline.

What Milan need to decide is whether to ‘cash out’ of their bet on Musah’s development early, or if they really do believe that – with the right coaching and a better supporting cast – he can become an integral wild card at least, or even a starting player at best.

The broken piece

Ruben Loftus-Cheek made his return to the field over the weekend, after almost two months out following a muscle injury suffered in the Supercoppa Italiana final vs. Inter. The return of the ex-Chelsea man was welcomed with great enthusiasm by Conceicao, who labelled him a ‘monster’.

The Portuguese coach will now be able to count on a midfielder in the last 11 games who, with his physical and technical characteristics, seems tailor made for his direct and aggressive style, provided that he is available.

Therein lies that caveat that has accompanied Loftus-Cheek’s playing career, because it feels like he is never far away from an injury. Not only that, but these physical issues have a habit of turning from minor complications into length absences, maybe because of the very thing that is his biggest asset (his size).

There are still those who harbour hopes that RLC can become the double-digit goal scorer that he was last season under Stefano Pioli. His devastating run of goals at the start of 2024 feels distant in the memory now but was a fundamental contribution.

The time for being able to hang on to players who might remain injury free and might repay faith is over for Milan after such a disastrous season though, and that’s why it feels like Loftus-Cheek will be out of the door if the right offer comes in.

The missing piece(s)

The aforementioned has therefore deduced that there are three pieces in the midfield puzzle for next season in Reijnders, Fofana and Bondo, barring any surprises. It would also be reasonable to presume that Musah will remain too, unless another club – potentially from England – wants to take a bet on him.

There is an absence of other realistic internal solutions. Tommaso Pobega is on loan at Bologna but they have an option to buy, and even if they didn’t use it then a new solution would likely be sought. Kevin Zeroli is on loan at Monza and is struggling for minutes, demonstrating he is not ready to be thrust in yet.

What exactly do Milan need to complete the picture? Just as it has been since Franck Kessie’s exit in the summer of 2022, a No.6 is needed who can actually shield the defence rather than theoretically, who specialises in ball recovery and other non-possession aspects.

Neglecting the need has cost Milan valuable points and has at times contributed to the shambolic defensive record. Square pegs in round holes such as the Rade Krunic experiment under Pioli simply cannot be repeated.

If league experience is the priority (and it probably should be), then someone like Morten Frendrup of Genoa is top or near-top of almost every defensive metric among midfielders. He ticks a lot of boxes because of his grit and efficiency, and shouldn’t cost a fortune.

Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images

Samuele Ricci stands out at Torino too, and his recent declaration that he wishes to focus on playing deeper as a regista is a positive one if Milan are to continue their pursuit of him after months of transfer links.

There are tens of names that we could list off, all offering something different. Florentino Luis of Benfica is an old flame that has rediscovered himself, while someone like Jorginho at Arsenal may be tempting because his veteran presence could bring control.

Signing a defensive midfield will free Reijnders to play closer to goal and Fofana/Bondo to predominantly play as box-to-box players which is their natural role. Should Musah or another player leave, a ball-playing mezzala would have to be signed to replace them.

The positive thing is that the jigsaw does not start from an empty board and there is an obvious final piece to put in. Finding the right one and acquiring it, though, is what stands between Milan and another season of painful transitions.