Third in Serie A, AC Milan seems a little far away from teasing Juventus (2nd, 7 points ahead) and Inter Milan (1st, 9 points). Firmly established on the podium, the Lombards nevertheless remain serious in the championship and this is not so obvious when we see the players who populate the Milanese infirmary. Thus, Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw, Pierre Kalulu, Marco Pellegrino, Mattia Caldara, Alessandro Florenzi, Rade Krunic, Tommaso Pobega and Noah Okafor are on the flank. If we add Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria) and Ismaël Bennacer (Algeria) who left for the African Cup of Nations, this naturally causes quite a depopulation in the Rossoneri ranks.
From then on, Stefano Pioli was forced to make tactical adjustments such as positioning Theo Hernandez in central defense or restarting players like Yacine Adli, Luka Jovic or Alessandro Florenzi before his injury. This also left room for young players initially expected on the Primavera side. If the Argentine winger Luka Romero (19 years old) who arrived this summer from Lazio plays very little, other elements from the young Milan team have scored points. We can obviously think of the 15-year-old nugget Francesco Camarda. Born on March 10, 2008, the striker who has 8 goals and 3 goals in 19 matches with the AC Milan U19 team was entitled to two short appearances in Serie A. If it is still early to imagine the youngest player in the history of Serie A permanently in the first team, others are slowly settling in.
Simic, Traoré and Jimenez have a chance to play
This is the case of the Serbian defender Jan-Carlo Simic (18 years old) who scrounges up minutes. Taking advantage of a real slaughter in defense, the former Stuttgart player who refined his training in Milan already has 4 appearances in the A team. Moreover, he found the net against Monza on December 17 for his big debut . Starting 3 times (and used 4 times) in AC Milan’s last 5 matches, he was able to convince Stefano Pioli. In any case, the main person concerned is over the moon. “Paolo Maldini was my idol, and it’s a dream for me to play for Milan. I watched a lot of his videos when I was a kid, and now the dream has come true.” he notably declared to DAZN during his first convincing outing under the rossonera tunic. At the same time, Chaka Traorè (19 years old) is also to slowly settle into the rotation.
The young Ivorian left winger who arrived in 2021 from Parma to continue and conclude his training is knocking hard at the door. Lively and technical, he already has 4 appearances in the first team and has started 2024 on a very good footing. Starting against Cagliari (4-1) in the Cup, he participated in his team’s easy victory with a goal. Last weekend against Empoli (3-0), he did it again by entering at the very end of the match. Performing in the same way as the right side Alex Jimenez (18 years old) loaned this season by Real Madrid (2 appearances and 133 minutes of play in the last two matches), like his teammate, he received the praise of Stefano Pioli.
“The young people were very well received by the more experienced ones. They support them in the right way: sometimes they compliment them, other times they pull their ears. They are guys of great humility, not easy to find today” declared the Italian technician. Forced to leave more room for the nuggets of the Primavera, Stefano Pioli also had the leisure to launch the 18-year-old midfielder Kevin Zeroli (2 matches, 26 minutes played). The captain of the AC Milan U19 team has 19 appearances for 5 goals and 2 goals in his age category. The left side Davide Bartesaghi (18 years old) also had a few opportunities to show off (7 appearances for 78 minutes played). For the moment remaining on the bench during 4 of AC Milan’s last 5 matches when he was called up, the French Clinton Nsiala (19 years old) could also have his chance at some point. The former Nantes player is a Primavera executive with 20 appearances (2 goals). AC Milan didn’t really have a choice, but this development of its young talents has some positives.
