Injuries, the mercato and a ‘new’ role: Clean slate under Fonseca crucial for Kalulu | OneFootball

A new head coach means a clean slate for the players in any squad, and there are few who need it at AC Milan like Pierre Kalulu does.

The 2023-24 campaign was a difficult one from Kalulu, with injuries meaning that he was unable to really build much momentum at all. However, we have all seen the levels that he is capable of and he certainly has time on his side.

With Paulo Fonseca’s arrival as the new manager, he will take a look at players in preseason who the media might have judged to be in the balance or even on their way out. It could provide Kalulu with a valuable chance to make a quick impression.

Troubled waters

Milan suffered a lot of injuries last season as they were once again missing key pieces in the crucial phase of the campaign, but there is arguably nobody who had luck as bad as Kalulu.

The Frenchman was looking to bounce back from a 2022-23 season in which he was in and out of the starting line-up, and that was one which followed a fantastic run towards the end of the Scudetto-winning campaign.

At the end of October he sustained a tear in his thigh muscle that kept him out for four months and 24 games across all competitions, which is virtually half of the season. Injuries to the other centre-backs Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori would compound the issues.

Then, when he had worked so hard to get back for the business end of the season, in mid-March he went down with a collateral ligament injury that saw him miss six weeks and a further eight games.

These physical problems – combined with the other ones – not only left the Rossoneri short in an area where they were struggling given the amount of goals conceded, but at 24 years of age it also robbed Kalulu of the majority of a critical period for his own personal development.

In the balance

What that unfortunately meant for Kalulu is that heading into the summer there were strong doubts about his position within the squad and whether there might actually be a chance that he departs the club.

It was reported after his second injury that the management were reflecting on the idea of a sale, given that he arrived from Lyon for less than €1m in the 2020 summer transfer window and thus would generate a pure capital gain.

Then came the links with various right-backs and centre-backs in the media, which seemed to make it apparent that Geoffrey Moncada and co. were looking at players who could bump Kalulu further down the pecking order.

It was widely reported that Fonseca wanted a new right-back who had more attacking tendencies – similar to Theo Hernandez on the opposite flank – and there were links with the likes of Matty Cash, Emerson Royal, Tiago Santos and others.

Yet, in his first press conference, the Portuguese coach spoke about the idea of the full-back positions being balanced, i.e. the man on the right side staying back to help the centre-backs when Theo does go forward.

This is something that Davide Calabria did regularly when Stefano Pioli was in charge, also coming into midfield, but some reports began to surface suggesting this could be just what Kalulu needed.

Hope springs

As our colleagues at SempreMilan.it write, Kalulu has impressed in these first training sessions under Fonseca so much so that things now seem to have changed regarding his future at the club.

The former Lille coach has seen in Kalulu what he thought was missing from the current group of right-backs in the squad: a player who is good at defending and explosive when going forward.

Fonseca tested the Frenchman on the right side and he likes what he has seen in terms of his defensive coverage, positioning and even what he can do in possession.

He has thus quickly climbed the hierarchy, positioning himself even ahead of captain Calabria, but the first pre-season friendlies – starting with Rapid Wien on Saturday – will give more concrete indications.

However, the feeling at the moment is that the Rossoneri management have frozen all the negotiations that began in recent days for the purchase of a full-back and are concentrating on the central defender.

The most likely name to play alongside Fikayo Tomori is Strahinja Palvovic from Red Bull Salzburg. The Serbian centre-back has reportedly already given his approval for a move to the Rossoneri, but the two clubs must find an agreement over a transfer fee.

Regardless of who arrives, it seems that Kalulu is already seizing the chance to impress a new coach, and the versatility that he provides – as well as the obvious room for growth – is something that certainly works in his favour.