Milan slumped to a second-straight defeat on Thursday (three if you include their aggregate defeat and Champions League elimination vs. Feyenoord) in a match vs. Bologna.
Rafael Leão opened the scoring before halftime, but the hosts would level proceedings after the break as Santiago Castro converted from a free kick. The two sides looked headed for a stalemate until the 82nd minute, when Dan Ndoye gave Bologna the lead, making it five home wins on the bounce for Vincenzo Italiano's side.
Last season, Bologna would finish fifth in the table and qualify for European football for the first time in a quarter-century, marking their presence in the UEFA Champions League for just the second time in their history and the first in 60 years. Over the following months, Bologna's squad was raided by various European months: star defender Riccardo Calafiori went to Arsenal, attacking talisman Joshua Zirkzee headed for Manchester United, whilst manager Thiago Motta left to replace Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.
They did, however, manage to keep hold of their Swiss trio, retaining midfielder Michel Aebischer and signing Remo Freuler on a permanent deal. And despite various teams like Manchester United, Inter and Liverpool casting their attention on him after a breakout Euros campaign, they were able to keep Ndoye on the payroll for the 2024/25 season.
Born in Nyon, Switzerland to a Swiss mother and a Senegalese father, Ndoye developed at Lausanne-Sport's academy before eventually taking his talents to France in the summer of 2020 and joining OGC Nice. However, he struggled to make his mark for Les Aiglons and returned to Switzerland a year later, joining Basel.
Ndoye scored 4 goals and 8 assists in 42 appearances as Basel finished second in the Swiss Super League table, prompting them to take up their purchase option. He began the 2022/23 campaign in impressive form, grabbing a goal vs. Servette and leading them past Crusaders, Brøndby and CSKA-Sofia en route to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.
This prompted the attention of Switzerland manager Murat Yakin, who gave him his maiden call-up. Ndoye made his debut on September 24, 2022, coming on for the final 22 minutes of a 2-1 win vs. Spain in the UEFA Nations League. In doing so, Ndoye became the latest player of African descent to represent the Rossocrociati after Gelson Fernandes, Breel Embolo, Denis Zakaria, Manuel Akanji and plenty more.
The summer departures of key attacking figures like Arthur Cabral and Edon Zhegrova meant that Ndoye had to shoulder even more responsibility, and he did just that by chipping in with 7 goals and 5 assists in 54 appearances. Basel regressed to fifth in the league table, but they nevertheless made it to the Swiss Cup quarterfinals whilst also reaching the doorstep of the Europa Conference League table.
Various European heavyweights came calling for Basel's players -- Zeki Amdouni headed to Burnley, Andy Diouf joined Lens, and Calafiori and Ndoye moved to Bologna. In contrast to Fernandes, whose sole spells in Italy came on loan with Chievo Verona and Udinese, Ndoye was going to be playing for a Serie A club on a permanent deal. Bologna paid a reported fee of €10.15m and tied him down to a contract through 2027, and it didn't take long for him to justify that price tag.
Ndoye would make his second appearance for Switzerland on September 9, 2023 by coming off the bench for the final half-hour of a 2-2 draw vs. Kosovo, whilst his third appearance would see him bag a brace of assists vs. Andorra. Today, Ndoye is one of the first names on the team sheet for Switzerland, having played in 18 matches for the Nati and starting in all five EURO matches, whilst he also scored his first goal vs. Germany in the group stage.
After an impressive first season in Bologna, Ndoye has managed to step up as a leader in attack following Zirkzee's departure and Alexis Saelemaekers' return from his loan. Having registered 1 goal and 2 assists in 32 league appearances in his first season, Ndoye has registered 6 goals and 2 assists in 22 Serie A appearances. Whether playing on the right flank or the left, Ndoye has been able to wreak havoc and make himself a nuisance for opposing fullbacks.
Ndoye started in seven of Bologna's eight UEFA Champions League matches, cutting his teeth against the likes of Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. He leads Bologna's squad for Expected Goals in Serie A (5.93), although his seven big chances missed (the highest in their team) indicates that he still has plenty of room for improvement in terms of finishing. Moreover, he sits second in Bologna's squad with 1.3 successful dribbles per 90.
His superb vision and ability to break down deep blocks makes him the perfect playmaker, capable of threading the needle with a killer pass or dribbling past a sea of defenders and launching the counter-attack. Moreover, his incessant stamina and blistering runs make him an exciting winger who can get on the end of crosses and through balls and test the goalkeeper with regularity.
At 24, Ndoye is only going to get better, and there's reason to believe that Milan should invest in his long-term future before his transfer value balloons even more. João Félix hasn't done enough to convince Milan of signing him on a permanent deal, and whilst Christian Pulisic continues to deliver, he has looked far more comfortable as the #10 as opposed to a right winger. And while Yunus Musah has been utilized on the right side of attack, he has looked like a fish out of water there in contrast to his preferred box-to-box midfield role.
With Félix likely to return to Chelsea in the summer and Samuel Chukwueze possibly on his way out, Milan are in need of a new right winger, and they could do a lot worse than Ndoye. He's solidified his status as one of Serie A's most exciting wide forwards, and he has the potential to form a scintillating attacking quarter alongside Pulisic, Rafael Leão and Santiago Giménez.
Against all odds, Ndoye has Bologna on track for yet another magical season. Bologna occupy the European positions and sit sixth in the table, two points above Fiorentina and three above Milan, and whilst they have been eliminated from the Champions League, they still have the opportunity to win silverware this season. Bologna will face Cagliari, Hellas Verona, Lazio and Venezia before traveling to Empoli in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals.
They will then take on all three of the Scudetto contenders -- Bologna, Atalanta and Inter -- before hosting Empoli in the second leg. If they can eliminate Empoli, they will face Inter or Milan in the final. After the second leg, they'll be going up against Udinese, Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Genoa in their final league fixtures.
It remains to be seen whether or not Bologna will return to UEFA competition, but if they do, they'll need Ndoye to be at his best. After grabbing three goals in his last three matches, Ndoye's star is on the rise, and he'll be looking to carry them through a difficult home stretch of the campaign.
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
