Aside from the fact that AC Milan obtained a late victory against Lazio thanks to Noah Okafor’s goal, there was another positive note off the bench.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Tomori made his return to the field two months after having spent a period on the sidelines due to a serious hamstring injury that he sustained on 23 December against Salernitana.
It was a match that went down in history for two reasons: the first is because it led to rumours that Stefano Pioli could be sacked, and the second was Gerry Cardinale’s words in his Christmas message about not being satisfied.
The Englishman came off in that game after scoring the first goal, and returned to the pitch on Friday at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio, in which the team got a well-deserved clean sheet arrived after conceding eight goals in three games.
Now Pioli will have to choose the centre-back pairing to rely on for the big games to come, given that Simon Kjaer, Matteo Gabbia, Malick Thiaw and Pierre Kalulu are all back, the latter having remained on the bench in the last two matches.
Kalulu is back in the fold after a four-month break and the Frenchman hasn’t played since October 29th against Napoli. At the moment, he is at the bottom of the hierarchy it seems, especially given how good Gabbia has been since his return.
The Italian will certainly be the first centre-back on the team sheet, at least against Slavia Prague and Empoli, also because his performance levels have been almost impeccable.
Just a month ago everyone from fans to media were screaming for another defender but now it’s a headache having them all back🤦
Yeah it’s good management didn’t panic buy a mid season CB (once Torino wouldn’t sell Buongiurno who is supposedly a long term starter)
I still think we’ll go in for the Torino CB and sell say Tomori/Thiaw for big money to Bayern or PL. But for this season with Kalulu back soon, and Gabbia playing well, looks like we’re fine at CB.
Gabbia will be dropped regardless of his form.
You can never lose the stigma of being a youth player….
Sad but true actually. His fate might be different if he was a Villarreal player we bought. And with Pioli at the helm, you can be sure his chances would be close to zero. Those two CB subs against Lazio just shows Pioli’s intentions. Players like Gabbia and Adli and others like the youth players will never be trusted by Pioli and that affects their confidence in play and growth as a player.
Why won’t Pioli shift Kalulu back to his original position which is RB.. I’m sure he will be more reliable in time than Calabria and Florenzi. I don’t say they are bad, but with his age I think he’s much more brighter prospect for that position.
Theo – Tomori – Gabbia – Kalulu
This certainly seems the lineup with most potential. Also with Theo bombing forward it’s good balance to have Kalulu the other side, the defense can morph into a back 3
There are plenty of games to play and Thiaw will have plenty of time if we have healthy rotation.
Perhaps even Theo can get a break, with Calabria, Florenzi as well as Bartesaghi, Jimenez, Terraciano all able to fill in.
We absolutely do NOT need more defenders!!!
Keep our modest budget for a DM and a Striker!
If we bring in 50m in sales from CDK, Alexis, Krunic and various others, add that to 50m from the club coffers we have 100m
Buy the 2 best DM and Striker we can afford and then leave things alone!
Unless the Saudi’s give us our money back for Chucky, then we replace him with a better RW
50 millions from which club coffers? Money from CL qualification? Possible winning of EL? Cause those are the only coffers with money this club can hope for. And there won’t be no 50 millions in there, best case scenario is 30 to 35 millions from club earnings.
Well i don’t have the Milan books infront of me, but yes the club is in a stable place and 50m has been the average injected by the club the last 2 summers.
There have been multiple reports stating the club is forcasted to post a profit.
They just need to compete. Whoever is in better form, starts. period. No seniority, no favorable treatment.
This. Competition is good. No one should have a season ticket to the starting 11.