Giacomo Bonaventura Quickly Proving to Be AC Milan's Biggest Asset

Giacomo Bonaventura almost never arrived in Milan at all. Remember Jonathan Biabiany was already dressed in a Milan scarf and posing for photos before AC Milan pulled the deal with Parma. 

In the final hours of the summer transfer window, CEO Adriano Galliani scrambled to get Bonaventura for €7 million. Bonaventura was crying as he signed the contract.

Even though he wasn’t the first choice, Bonaventura is now. He always has a spot in the starting XI, no matter where it is.

But on the weekend, he found what could be his favourite position. Bonaventura sat behind Jeremy Menez and Mattia Destro as the trequartista in a 4-3-1-2 formation. He even started ahead of Keisuke Honda, who thrives in that same area. 

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Bonaventura scored a goal and he could have had another. The 25-year-old was the second line of attack, as dangerous as he was unnoticed. Bonaventura had the freedom to roam around the final third and take shots from several different angles. It was one of his best games in an already fine season.

He arrived from Atalanta as a hard-working midfielder with quick feet. He is making just €1 million a year—one of the lowest salaries on the team. It’s as if the club did not expect much from him.

Milan needed to find a body after selling youth product Bryan Cristante to Benfica, which is how they raised the funds for Bonaventura.

In the here and now, Bonaventura looks like the better player. He has made 22 appearances, scored four goals and supplied three assists for Milan. 

Cristante has had a more difficult time in Portugal, managing just nine starts in his first senior season.

"

When people complain about Cristante leaving remember Milan used proceeds of that sale for Bonaventura who has been excellent

— David Amoyal (@DavidAmoyal) February 22, 2015"

Trading away one of your own young prospects never feels good, and Milan fans were angry with the deal. Cristante is just 19 anyway, six years younger than Bonaventura, and he could well turn into the deep-lying midfielder that Milan are missing.

But Bonaventura is a tidy player who has helped the fans forget about it. He can line up as an outside midfielder or a winger, and he can also play in the hole behind the strikers. He has played on both the right and left sides of the field—pretty much everywhere but the defence. 

“A player like Bonaventura can give you the right balance,” coach Filippo Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia).

He is not a €500,000 bargain like Antonio Nocerino. Nocerino was an illusion. He was a magic trick, coming out of nowhere and vanishing a year later. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made him a better player, and Nocerino disappeared as soon as Ibrahimovic left. 

No, Bonaventura is the real thing, a utility player that does things on his own.

He earned his best ratings on WhoScored.com in an attacking role, and that is likely where he will stay. He has been the man of the match for the past two games, and he is only getting better. Not bad for a player who nearly never came at all.