Alessio Romagnoli a Crucial Piece in Sinisa Mihajlovic's AC Milan Puzzle
With the arrivals of Carlos Bacca, Andrea Bertolacci, Luiz Adriano and Jose Mauri, the AC Milan revolution is well underway. New coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s team is starting to take shape, although Milan are still very much in need of defensive reinforcements.
Alessio Romagnoli spent time working under Mihajlovic last season while on loan at Sampdoria from Roma and his performances there were impressive enough to see him identified as a transfer target for bigger clubs, Milan included.
An Italian under-21 international and Serie A regular at the tender age of 20, Romagnoli has also been linked with a move to Arsenal, per Corriere dello Sport (via James Benge of the London Evening Standard), as interest in him intensifies.
Milan have as yet been unable to meet Roma’s valuation of the youngster, with La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia) reporting that club vice-president Adriano Galliani is unwilling to improve upon a €25 million bid. But, as outlined below, it is imperative that Milan beat off the competition to bring Romagnoli to San Siro for a number of reasons.
1. Solid defensive fundamentals
Within the top half of Serie A in the 2014-15 season, only Napoli conceded more goals than Milan. The Rossoneri let in 1.3 goals per league game as they trudged to an underwhelming 10th place.
Mihajlovic’s Sampdoria were far more defensively sound, with the fifth-best goals-against tally in the league, but it will be hard for the Serbian coach to implement such organisation at Milan with a back line composed of subpar performers.
Philippe Mexes recently renewed his contract but is well beyond his best. The same could be said of Alex, while the jury still remains out—just—on Cristian Zapata and Gabriel Paletta’s credentials.
Milan need more central-defensive authority.
Romagnoli lost as many tackles as he won in Serie A last season; however, it is worth bearing in mind that he played far more games than any of the aforementioned four.
His number of league appearances (29) substantially betters that of Alex (21), Mexes (19), Paletta (13 after joining Milan in January 2015) and Zapata (12). The low appearance totals of the current Milan central-defensive crop are mostly down to an inconsistent selection predicated by former coach Filippo Inzaghi’s predilection for rotation, as well as individual injuries and suspensions.
As he played more games, Romagnoli engaged in more tackles than any of the Milan four throughout 2014-15, and his tackles-won percentage is actually comparably impressive as a result—he won 50 per cent of 70 tackles overall.
Zapata won 69 per cent of a mere 29 tackles, Alex won 68 per cent of 28 tackles, Mexes won 52 per cent of 48 tackles, while Paletta won just 46 per cent of 35 tackles made. Considering that he engaged in far more tackles than all four of the above, Romagnoli’s strong tackle percentage signals that he would add solidity to the Milan defence.
Romagnoli isn’t just good on the ground, he’s capable of winning the ball in the air, too. He won 60.98 per cent of his aerial duels last season, a record only Zapata and Alex of the existing Milan crop bettered. Given Zapata and Alex’s height, strength and renowned aerial prowess, Romagnoli’s place behind them in this category is understandable, if not expected.
With excellent timing and commitment in the challenge, readiness to stay on his feet instead of simply diving in, and positional intelligence, Romagnoli would bring a level of sturdiness to the Milan defence that has been lacking of late.
2. Bringing composure to the back line
Romagnoli has been compared to Alessandro Nesta due to his technical competence. For a youngster, his willingness and adeptness at playing the ball out from the back is a pleasure to see.
As well as being a strong and decisive defensive force, he is capable of starting attacks with his left foot, making him a perfect modern centre-back and an ideal option for any team hoping to play attractive, passing football.
His pass-completion statistics speak volumes in this regard. Last season he completed 83 per cent of his passes and, while both Alex and Paletta obtained higher percentages in this field, it is again worth noting that their figures were achieved over significantly fewer games.
Over the course of the campaign, Romagnoli made 921 passes, compared with 790 for Mexes, 639 for Alex, 399 for Zapata and 388 for Paletta. Despite making far more passes than all four of the Milan centre-backs, his 83 per cent success rate was bettered only by Alex (90 per cent) and Paletta (85 per cent.)
The statistics correlate with the notion that Romagnoli is a quality ballplayer, and his comfort in possession is further represented by the fact he made more key passes, created more chances and set up more goals than any of the Milan four.
His ability on the ball also supplements his versatility. Romagnoli has, on occasion, occupied a left-back berth during his short career thus far, a position that generally requires an attacking impulse and quality going forward.
The full-back role also requires pace and quick reactions, which are some of Romagnoli’s other assets. His elegance, technical proficiency, versatility, left-footedness and defensive solidity could reasonably lead to comparisons with another Milan legend: Paolo Maldini.
3. The player-manager understanding
Romagnoli was already considered a bright young thing when he left Roma to join Sampdoria on loan at the beginning of last season; although it was with the Blucerchiati, under Mihajlovic’s coaching tutelage, that he truly began to flourish.
Playing as the left-sided centre-back in a back four, Romagnoli enjoyed a positive central-defensive partnership with Matias Silvestre as Samp enjoyed a tremendous season, finishing seventh in the league and gaining entry to the Europa League due to the alleged financial irregularities of local rivals Genoa, per Ansa.it.
Unlike previous Milan boss Inzaghi, Mihajlovic likes to have a very clear idea of his back four, and indeed Romagnoli and Silvestre started the majority of games together. This clarity will be harder to achieve at Milan, where Mihajlovic has a real lack of standout central-defensive options.
The signing of Romagnoli would not only mean additional quality, it would also mean the continuation of a relationship that worked for both parties last season at Sampdoria. Roma have put a €30 million price tag on the youngster’s head, per Sky Sport Italia (via Forza Italian Football), and that valuation has much to do with what he showed as part of Mihajlovic’s Sampdoria side.
Romagnoli possesses a clear understanding of the coach’s methods and tactical demands from working with him firsthand for a year, something shown through his development during this period.
Mihajlovic has been generally coy on the defender, but he quietly hinted at his appreciation by saying:
"I won’t talk about players I do not have at my disposal. Romagnoli is an important player with great potential, but he is not Milan’s.
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For Mihajlovic, the benefit of having a player who he has worked with successfully in the past at the heart of his Milan defence cannot be underestimated.
The fact that Roma are even open to selling Romagnoli is surprising, though doing so is their prerogative. Those who can afford Romagnoli will be long-term benefactors, and Milan should do everything within their power to make sure they come out on top in the bidding war.
All statistics provided by Squawka unless otherwise stated.
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