Why Rodrigo Ely and Alessio Romagnoli Is AC Milan's Best Centre-Back Partnership

The centre of defense has been a source of constant aggravation for fans of AC Milan over the last few seasons. Since 2012, when Alessandro Nesta left as a free agent to finish his career in MLS and Thiago Silva was sold in a megadeal to Paris Saint-Germain, the defense has been a consistent source of weakness.

This is especially galling at a place like Milan, which has a long history of fielding world-class defenders like Silva, Nesta, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini.

The names that have manned the position in the last few years are far less illustrious. The likes of Philippe Mexes, Alex, Cristian Zapata, Salvatore Bocchetti, Gabriel Paletta and Daniele Bonera have all tried—and failed—to fill the void there.

Bonera, to the disgust of the fans, even captained the side on occasion last season—and managed to get sent off twice in only 16 appearances.

Hope was rekindled this summer, though, when the Rossoneri finally addressed the heart of the back line in a meaningful way. Into the fold came 21-year-old Rodrigo Ely, a product of the Gremio academy who was brought to Milan's primavera side in 2010 and had spent the last two years on loan in Serie B.

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Prime target Alessio Romagnoli, who moved from Roma for €25 million, also arrived. The 20-year-old had spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Sampdoria, where he grew familiar with the demands of coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. He followed the Serbian to Milan, though the transfer was a long and protracted affair.

It's on these two young defenders that Milan need to build their new defensive foundation.

Their youth is key here. Milan have been defined in the last five years by the very apparent lack of a plan for the future. Cracks have been papered over by vice president Adriano Galliani with bargain-basement buys like Michael Essien or Fernando Torres.

It's been like this on defense more than anywhere else. This past winter, Galliani brought in three defenders to try to beef up the back line, but only one—Luca Antonelli—is still with the team and contributing. The others, Bocchetti and Paletta, were either totally ineffective or couldn't regain prior form before moving on.

But Ely and Romagnoli are so young and talented that they could both represent long-term solutions.

The rest of the centre-back corps in Milan has serious issues. Alex is solid when the ball is in front of him, but at 33 years old, he severely lacks pace and has big problems when a fast attacker manages to slip in behind him.

Zapata is a curious case. He shows up to play for Colombia when international breaks come around, but at Milan, he has been prone to some baffling mental errors. It was his mistake on Sunday that led to a second booking for Romagnoli. While he can be imposing when on form, those days are so rare that it's difficult to consider him a full-time starter.

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Mexes is a frustrating case. When he's focused, he can be more than adequate in the back. But when he's not—and this is far more often the case—he's a red card waiting to happen.

Over the last two seasons, he's been handed lengthy suspensions for completely stupid acts—namely punching Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini and attacking Lazio's Stefano Mauri.

While he is capable of pulling out the occasional wonder goal, one hesitates to trust him as a long-term solution on defense.

The flaws in their teammates are exactly the reasons why it is essential that Ely and Romagnoli be allowed to develop as a tandem on the field.

Both still have their rough edges. Ely in particular is prone to cards. According to Transfermarkt.com, he was suspended a total of seven games last season in Serie B after being sent off four times—three of those being straight reds.

He certainly lived up to the reputation in the opener against Fiorentina, where he had to leave the field after only half an hour when he was booked a second time.

In his defense, like Romagnoli last week, he was badly exposed in the play that led to the card, but both he and Romagnoli—who wasn't sent off at Samp but has been booked in one-third of his appearances, according to WhoScored.com—clearly need polishing.

But there's a difference between a 20-year-old making that mistake and a 33-year-old like Mexes making it. Maturity is the key for these two, and the only way for them to mature is to play—and to play together—as much as they can.

While it may mean accepting the occasional youthful misstep, the best way to develop this talented pair is to keep them on the field.

It could pay off long-term in a highly productive pairing that could be a rock at Milan for years.