Why 10 Goals Is a Realistic Aim for AC Milan's Jeremy Menez in 2015/16 Season

Jeremy Menez cupped his right ear in audacious celebration. It wasn’t clear who he was trying to provoke. He had just scored a wonderful goal for Milan against Cagliari but refused to smile or even feign enthusiasm. The Frenchman was upset about something.

Speaking after the game, Menez clarified that his gesture was not aimed at restless Milanisti but was instead directed towards the press who had criticised his performances. “My gesture was not for the fans but for the media,” he told Sky Sport Italia, per Goal. “They talk about me without knowing anything and I don’t like that.”

Throughout his career Menez has had several run-ins. A sublime yet mercurial talent, his individual quality has frequently been interspersed with doubts about his usefulness to the collective. He can appear self-centred; his runs, passes and shots viewed primarily as attempts at personal glory. Yet last season, amid the worst league campaign in recent Milan history, he seemed at home.

Filippo Inzaghi’s tenure as Rossoneri coach was laced with weekly formational modifications and inconsistency. Menez was shunted around the team, from the left wing to a false-nine role, then to an attacking-midfield position behind January loan-signing Mattia Destro. But wherever he played, he looked dangerous.

Menez was undoubtedly one of Milan’s best players last season. His 16 goals in 33 Serie A games were a personal record haul, while he showed flashes of skill that left mouths agape. The bouts of wanderlust were still there, but finally Menez looked effective. He looked useful to a team.

Yet, despite the work of last season, Menez finds himself on the outside looking in at Milan as the new league season approaches. The Rossoneri travel to play Fiorentina away on Sunday 23 August and he will more than likely start on the bench. This is partly due to the fact that he has been injured of late, but part of the reason is tactical.

Sinisa Mihajlovic has spent his first pre-season as Milan coach implementing the same formation he predominantly utilised with Sampdoria, the 4-3-1-2. This system allows only for one player between the midfielders and strikers and, given Milan’s plethora of options in this area, there is little-to-no guarantee that Menez will simply walk back into the starting line-up upon his return to full fitness.

Keisuke Honda looked good in the hole behind Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano during Milan’s 2-0 Coppa Italia victory over Perugia on Monday. The Japanese playmaker scored the opening goal and created the second, ensuring that he enters the new season as the prime candidate for the trequartista role.

Giacomo Bonaventura started as part of the midfield trio that night, though he would also be more suited further forward, while Suso has also been used in the role during pre-season.

That, along with new additions up front in the form of Bacca and Adriano, means that Menez has a real fight on his hands to regain his place in the team, something Mihajlovic has made no secret about, telling Rai Sport (per Gazzetta World):

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Menez can play as both an attacking midfielder or as a second-striker but he will have to do what I ask of him. Whether he plays or not, it will all depend on him.

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Evidently, Mihajlovic wants Menez to prove himself all over again; to show how valuable he can be to a new system.

However, using Bacca as a benchmark for finishing and Honda as a benchmark for creating, Menez will struggle to find game time behind the striker or as part of the two-man strikeforce.

According to Squawka, per 90 minutes he had more shots than Bacca last season yet scored less, while also setting up less goals than Honda despite making more passes. The statistics correlate with the notion that Menez is multifaceted, but ultimately they also prove that he isn’t a specialist in roles specifically focused on creating or taking goalscoring opportunities.

Menez may have less opportunities in the 2015/16 season under Mihajlovic and reduced minutes will make it difficult for him to repeat his 16-goal record of last season. However, with his maverick skill and unpredictability he still has plenty to offer and, as such, a target of 10 league goals would be a realistic aim.