GdS: Battle, ball-playing and balance – how Fofana could drastically change Milan | OneFootball

AC Milan welcomed their fourth summer signing on Saturday as Youssouf Fofana arrived from AS Monaco, and a strong argument can be made that he is the most important so far.

La Gazzetta dello Sport begin by stating that Fofana is a right-footed midfielder, he is 1.85m tall and Milan have been chasing him for months because he is a player that commands ‘respect’ in the middle of the park.

He has considerable physical and athletic qualities, especially when it comes to battling in front of the defence. Zlatan Ibrahimovic himself clarified the importance of a similar profile a few days ago, at the time of as his presentation presser.

“With Youssouf we looked for a midfielder who could bring balance and stability. He is a player who breaks the lines, he can make assists and goals. He will improve the team a lot, now we are finally complete,” he said.

The Swede also clarified how the Diavolo have been targeting the player for some time, even before Paulo Fonseca’s arrival, and this is because Fofana represents a different profile compared to the other midfielders in the department at present.

A statistic to strengthen the concept is that last season, his average of balls recovered exceeded seven per game. In his four years at Monaco, where he matured into a France international, he also made 175 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing 15 assists.

The other element veers towards Fonseca’s ideas. After the Silvio Berlusconi Trophy win against Monza, the Portuguese did not mince his words when asked about a midfielder: “It’s Fofana, we all know it.”

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It was a phrase that suggests that the new coach has been imagining his Milan with the Frenchman in the midfield in his head for weeks. Fonseca faced off against him several times while he was Lille manager and now has a player with strengths (literally) that haven’t been seen at Milan since Franck Kessie.

Fofana’s strengths are pressing, winning back the ball and supporting the team on the counter-attack. The heat maps show an almost total presence from defence to midfield, as a ball recoverer and dam in front of the back line (4.7 duels won per game last season last season). Also, he made 1756 passes, more than anyone in his team.

The final aspect to consider is the impact his arrival will have on other players. Tijjani Reijnders will grow first and foremost as he will be free to create and dictate, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek could have different responsibilities and even others like Ismael Bennacer could benefit too.