GdS: ‘The future at stake’ – Abraham aims to convince Milan as Lucca’s shadow lurks

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·11 April 2025

GdS: ‘The future at stake’ – Abraham aims to convince Milan as Lucca’s shadow lurks

Tammy Abraham is expected to get the nod to start against Udinese tonight, and it is another chance for him to try and convince the AC Milan management.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, concept of fate is so strong in Portuguese culture that there is even a musical genre named after it. Paulo Fonseca didn’t like ‘fado’, but who knows if Sergio Conceiçao appreciates its underlying meaning.

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When he arrived at Milan on December 30, he would never have expected to be ninth in the table in April. “There were incidents that were out of our control,” the coach complained, commenting on the absence of Kyle Walker, who underwent surgery after fracturing his right elbow.

“Players who get hurt at home [he would later explain how he meant Milanello by the term ‘home’] or who end up in hospital a few hours before the match [Loftus-Cheek in Naples]. Now I can’t say when Walker will return,” Luck isn’t smiling on the Rossoneri.

But would anything have changed if Sergio had arrived earlier? He also responded to that notion too in his pre-match press conference, stating: “I’m not a magician, I couldn’t say.”

The centre-forward

Conceiçao prefers to focus the match tonight in Udine, which opens the 32nd round of Serie A. He will be without Walker, but also Santi Gimenez, who came out sore from the match with Fiorentina. Up front, then, space again for Tammy Abraham, one of the most in form among the Rossoneri.

The Englishman, beyond the injury of the former Feyenoord player, had already climbed the hierarchy and snatched the starting spot in the last three matches against Napoli, Inter and Fiorentina. If for Milan the end of the season seems devoid of objectives, for Abraham he has a chance to convince.

It will not be easy to transform the dry loan into a permanent move (Milan and Roma will discuss it at the end of the season), but if Tammy continues to send out signals, who knows. In the meantime, tonight he will meet Lorenzo Lucca, another striker the Rossoneri have been linked with.

Change in system

Conceicao will not use two strikers from the start, meaning Luka Jovic will remain on the bench. The coach said: “I did it at Porto and I really like the 4-4-2, but we are not ready to play with two attackers plus Leao and Pulisic as wingers, Theo as full-back… However, we are working on it.”

On the other hand, Conceiçao in Udine should launch the three-man defence with Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic from the start. Even before the deployment, the coach expects a leap forward in the team’s attitude, especially at the start.

“We have to understand that matches are won from the first to the last minute. This concentration is important, and we talked about this among ourselves,” he said. But what objective can Milan set for themselves in the league? “We look at it game by game, starting with the three important points up for grabs in Udine.”

Last year Mike Maignan was targeted by a handful of fans who directed racist chants at the goalkeeper. At one point the team left the field, only to return. “Mike, think about the game,” Conceiçao concluded. “And the fans should think about cheering for their team.”