Costacurta believes Camarda is ready for Milan first team: “Never seen someone so strong” | OneFootball

Alessandro Costacurta believes that Francesco Camarda could stay with the AC Milan senior team for next season and not necessarily play in the U23 team.

Camarda might just be the most talked about 16-year-old in Italian football given his ridiculous goal scoring record with Milan’s youth teams and the fact he has continued those promising signs through the ranks.

There is certainly a romance to the story because Camarda is a Milanista and has been spotted in the Curva Sud before, but with this there is some pressure on Milan to manage his development the right way, perhaps with a promotion to the U23 team first.

As we reported first, Milan will take their place in Serie C with a new second team that aims to create a pool of 50-55 players that can move between the first team and the second team. The overall investment for the club is €12m, and a lot of the current Primavera stars will move up.

Costacurta was interviewed by Sportweek and he was asked about the possibility of Camarda playing in Serie C with Milan’s second team next season, with his comments relayed by Radio Rossonera.

“He is so young that he has an evolution ahead of him that will last years. And an evolution, by its nature, is unpredictable: it can lead to an improvement, but it can also, upon completion, make no progress, leaving you as you were, or even lead to a worsening,” he said.

“Seeing Camarda now, how he plays against opponents two or three years older than him, the thought is that he really can have a bright future. I follow youth football a lot, and I repeat: I’ve never seen someone so strong at his age. Never seen it.

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“What strikes me about him? Movements outside and inside the area. He has a strong ability to free himself from his marker. It’s something you have inside, no one can teach you. It’s pure instinct. I’ve seen few like him, moving away from the defender in the penalty area with just a body movement. Pippo Inzaghi comes to mind.

“But let’s also look at the first of the two goals scored against Portugal in the U17 European Championship final: in that solo goal, in which he starts from the left, cuts inside, beats the man twice and goes on to score, Camarda shows everything. Movement without the ball, technique, but above all clarity.

“The U23s of Juve and Atalanta have shown that, in that size and category, young people can grow. It will be the same for the Milan boys. Camarda could still make the Primavera, but I think that, if he continues like this, within a year and a half or two he will be able and will have to play in Serie A.

“But, in my opinion, he can already be in the orbit of the first squad. I’m not saying as a starter, but behind the designated ‘9’, he can fit in well. When the other guy isn’t there, he plays.”