Strengths and Weaknesses of AC Milan Transfer Target Axel Witsel

Reports such as this one in the Daily Express featuring AC Milan's name next to the Zenit St Petersburg and Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel have been doing the rounds for a while now, but what would the Rossoneri be getting for their money?

Witsel has been a known face (and hairstyle) around Europe for a few years now following spells with Standard Liege, Benfica and now Zenit, but could his game adapt to the rigours of Serie A?

Here we look at his strengths and weaknesses and try to find out.

Strength: Power

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At over 6' tall and with the broad frame to match, Witsel is so much more than the mini Marouane Fellaini he can often come to resemble when the pair with the hair are stationed together in midfield for Belgium.

The 26-year-old possesses the ability to surge past opponents or simply knock them off their stride, something which should be suited to the Italian game and could see him dominate several midfield battles in Serie A.

Opponents know that he is often a tough barrier to navigate around, and it is that stature which so often makes him such a difficult player to face.

Weakness: Ill-Discipline

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You've all seen the footage by now, and whilst it is unfair to keep referring back to what has been an isolated incident which has haunted his career, Witsel's 2009 challenge on Anderlecht's Marcin Wasilewski is something which keeps cropping up when he's discussed.

The studs-up lunge shattered the leg of the current Leicester City defender, with Witsel later banned for eight matches despite protesting his innocence and claiming it was an accident.

His reputation in his home country suffered greatly after that, but it is also worth mentioning that he's only been sent off once in his three years with Zenit.

Strength: Winning

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Witsel has won at least one trophy at each of the three clubs he's played for professionally, winning the league twice and the Belgian Cup with Standard Liege, the Portuguese League Cup in his one season at Benfica and the Russian Premier League with Zenit in the season just gone.

Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca, Milan's two major arrivals so far this summer, also seem to share this winning trait, and if new boss Sinisa Mihajlovic wants to create a squad full of winners, then he's going the right way about it.

Witsel could help create a change of mentality at Milan following several seasons in the doldrums.

Weakness: Finishing

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He doesn't exactly play in a position where he is judged solely on his goals output, but given all of his qualities and the standard of opposition in Russia you'd think that Witsel could have improved on his goals returns of five, four and six in his three seasons at Zenit.

He's also only netted once for Belgium in over four years, and only one of his five international goals came outside of friendly matches.

We're nitpicking here, perhaps, as he is a player with so much more that he is able to give in other aspects of the game, but finding the net more regularly would ensure that the tag of "the complete midfield player" wouldn't actually be an unwarranted one.

Strength: Leadership

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Perhaps because of his size and his position on the pitch, leadership is one thing which always seems to have come naturally to Witsel, who can often be seen standing up and being counted for his team.

It is a quality which hasn't gone unnoticed by Belgium manager Marc Wilmots, who, as reported by Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur in the Guardian prior to last summer's World Cup, has said of the midfielder:

"

He’s my boss on the pitch. We understand each other with just one look.

"

High praise indeed, and the sort of quality which would shine through at a club such as Milan with their long history of leaders.

Weakness: Petulance

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This is different to the ill-discipline slide as it refers to Witsel's tendency to get caught up in long-running battles with a member of the opposition team which might not get physical, but do sometimes seem to affect his game.

Little, niggling fouls can often occur too, and all of that just tends to put a dampener on the performances of an often excellent player, and one whom you just suspect could be even better if he just cut this side of his game out.

If he were to move to Serie A, then he'd instantly find himself a target for both opposition players looking to get in his face and subsequently referees, and he's have to rise above the provocation to be a success. 

Strength: Passing

The website WhoScored.com list one of Witsel's strengths as passing, and although the ball for Oscar Cardozo in the video above was a relatively simple one by the time he had made the room for himself, the assist shows the midfielder's game intelligence and an understanding of where his teammates are.

The aforementioned Terreur also compliments Witsel's "excellent" passing in his Guardian piece, and with new forwards Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca to aim for he wouldn't be short of movement ahead of him to try and create chances.

Witsel is diligent and rarely gives the ball away, and would be a huge upgrade in a Milan midfield which seemed to lose too many battles last season.

Weakness: Lack of Experience in a Major European League

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For all of Witsel's qualities—and there are more than have been listed here—he has still never to truly test himself in one of the iconic European divisions.

His experiences in Belgium, Portugal and Russia have certainly shown us that he is a supremely gifted player, but until we see him in action against world-renowned talents every week there will be a question mark over his head and that afro.

This is a harsh statement perhaps, but one which Witsel has all of the attributes to quickly and emphatically refute.