Discussions between Turin fans must turn to bursts of laughter when they remember that AC Milan strengthened their club for free this summer. After an almost blank season (9 Serie A matches), far from his standards displayed during the previous two (28 and 34 matches), Pierre Kalulu has in fact joined Juventus as part of a loan. Not necessarily scheduled to take on a starting role at the start, the former French international hopeful knew how to draw from the right drawers at the right times.
Switched between the right-back and central defender positions, the ex-Lyonnais was able to answer the call each time Thiago Motta called on him. A confidence that is reflected in his number of minutes played over the past month: 616 out of a possible 630, which quite simply makes him the defender most used by the Italian technician. Obviously, Bremer’s serious injury in recent weeks has also redistributed the cards to the central defender position, where Gatti may have lost credit.
Italy still salutes its performance yesterday
Through its versatility and reliability, Kalulu stands out today as a first choice in Motta’s mind. Yesterday, the 24-year-old obviously started for the clash against Lazio, a direct competitor for the qualifying places in the Champions League. And suffice to say that Kalulu has still mastered all the tricks. Intelligent in his management of depth, intractable in duels, reassuring in his restarts, he also caused Romagnoli’s red card after 24 minutes of play. On social networks, comparisons with Calafiori, transformed by Motta in Bologna the season past, have been pouring in over the last few hours. Just like the praises of the Italian press.
Yesterday, La Gazzetta dello sport gave him the best score of the match (6.5), again, saying that he had even made the defense boss, Bremer, forget: “He starts with an excellent intervention, but the highlight of his match is the race with which he sends Romagnoli out. In defense and attack, he doesn’t make Bremer regret it.” For his part, Corriere dello sport credits it with a 7.5, also the best score of the meeting: “A fury on command. He led the action on the expulsion of Romagnoli. Imperial strides. What mastery in pattern making”. In such form, it would not be crazy to see Kalulu’s name linked, directly or indirectly, to the French team… Last week, Deschamps confirmed at a press conference that he was following him. always. The former Lyonnais knows what he has to do: transform the try.
