CM: ‘Inseparable and irreplaceable’ – Reijnders and Fofana ‘deserve a stronger Milan’ | OneFootball

There are few certainties within an AC Milan side that are struggling in terms of results and performances, but the midfield is one of them.

As Calciomercato.com write, Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders are ‘inseparable and irreplaceable’. They duo are two pillars for Paulo Fonseca because they always play and their partnership seems to be growing with each game.

Their characteristics are complementary, and during the game against Verona on Friday we saw it first hand. The Frenchman played a quite simply brilliant through ball to the Dutchman who scored with a first-time shot, playing in a more advanced midfield role.

It’s no coincidence what happened at the Christmas party last Monday: the Milan fans who were protesting outside reserved applause and chants of encouragement only for those two, as well as for Maignan and Pulisic.

Reijnders has eight goals and three assists in 1788 minutes played this season, while Fofana has one goal and five assists in a total of 1786 minutes. These are numbers that perfectly tell how close-knit and fundamental they are for Milan.

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As the headline of the article writes, the issue is that they ‘deserve a stronger Milan’. Nonetheless, the pair are a certainty for the present and for the future because Tijjani will renew his contract until 2029 while Youssouf’s will expire in 2028.

In addition to solving several problems for Fonseca, Fofana and Reijnders are making the Rossoneri fans dream just as Sandro Tonali and Franck Kessie did in the past. They are less physically powerful, but the technical ability and the importance remains.