M'Baye Niang Deserves a Second Chance with AC Milan

Since arriving in 2012, 20-year-old French forward M’Baye Niang has failed to establish himself at AC Milan, scoring just once in 38 appearances for the Rossoneri.

But after a six-month loan spell at Genoa, he could still have a future at San Siro.

Niang has a contract with Milan until 2017, although his future appeared bleak prior to his move to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in January. However, almost immediately upon gracing the Genovese turf, he began to show the sort of talent that must have persuaded Milan to sign him as a promising teenager.

He put in a man-of-the-match display in Genoa's 5-2 victory over Verona in February, scoring twice, and hit the net on five occasions in total while assisting twice in 14 appearances for the Grifone. In the process, Niang obtained his highest performance rating, according to WhoScored.com.

Playing predominantly on the left wing of Gian Piero Gasperini’s fluent 3-4-3 formation, Niang showed the kind of cutting edge that previously seemed absent from his game. Indeed, his form has led to recent suggestions that he may remain with Milan come the end of his loan period.

Speaking to MilanNews.it (via Forza Italian Football), Niang’s agent, Moussa Ndyaie, stated:

"

Milan wants to return to the top and... everyone at the Rossoneri thinks that Niang could be part of this project. ... M’Baye is ready and knows that Milan have confidence in him.

The Rossoneri have recently refused offers from some clubs that proposed loans with payment options but now we are talking about a contract extension with Milan which may come soon. We’re working on it.

"

If this is the case, It would be quite a turnaround in circumstances for the youngster, who as recently as 2014 was being lambasted for his off-field behaviour as well as his poor performances on it, having crashed his car while under suspension from driving during another loan spell with Montpellier in France.

Milan are once again enduring a transitional phase, having replaced Filippo Inzaghi with former Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. The Serb has a history of maximising the performances of underperforming players such as Stefano Okaka and also has no problem dealing with big personalities, as he did with Samuel Eto’o.

Mihajlovic is a good man-manager, so the relationship between Niang and the new Milan coach could be mutually beneficial.

Milan’s attacking options are in desperate need of review. January arrivals Suso, Mattia Destro and Alessio Cerci failed to provide the spark that was missing, Stephan El Shaarawy has struggled with injury issues, Giampaolo Pazzini will be out of contract soon and the futures of Alessandro Matri and Fernando Torres, who like Niang have been out on loan, is uncertain.

Throughout the 2014-15 season, Milan became heavily reliant on the enigmatic technician Jeremy Menez for goals, but he cannot be expected to do this on his own going forward. Assuming Mihajlovic wants to use similar systems to those he used with Sampdoria—a 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-3—he will require at least three reliable and consistent attacking options.

Niang’s statistics while on loan at Genoa paint a picture of a player who deserves to be given another chance at Milan. According to Squawka, Niang scored more goals per 90 minutes than all of his Milan colleagues bar Menez. He also had a higher attacking score than all of them, including Menez.

Should Mihajlovic wish to play with strikers who pull wide, Niang could be a perfect fit, having played a similar role with great efficacy during his spell with Genoa. If not, his pace and height could be used in a similar manner to the way Mihajlovic employed Okaka’s traits with Sampdoria.

Milan will be without European football for the second successive season, and if they are to find a way to return to the top of Serie A, they must do so within their financial means. They cannot afford to overlook those already on their books, especially if they have plenty of potential still to fulfil.

Niang’s performances for Genoa surely place him in that category.