There's no use sugarcoating it: It has been a horrendous season for AC Milan. The Rossoneri were knocked out of the Champions League by Feyenoord - despite signing their top scorer Santiago Giménez in the January window - and whilst they can still end their season with two trophies, their domestic form has been, quite frankly, embarrassing.
Sérgio Conceição's side find themselves in grave danger of missing out on European football with the club currently sitting in ninth place, four points behind Fiorentina, five behind Roma and six behind sixth-placed Lazio. It remains to be seen whether or not Il Diavolo will be able to sneak their way into the European positions, or if they'll be able to reach the Coppa Italia Final after drawing 1-1 to Inter in the first leg, but one thing's for sure: they are set for a major summer rebuild.
There are quite a few players who could be on the chopping block this summer, including some who arrived as recently as the summer of 2023. From that summer 2023 window, there have been several resounding success stories like Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders, but there have also been quite a few players who haven't come remotely close to repaying their transfer fee.
After a season that saw them reach the Champions League semifinals, Milan embarked on a youth-heavy approach: out of their 10 signings in the summer of 2023, only backup goalkeeper Marco Sportiello (31) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (27) were older than 25. Sportiello has since made 11 appearances for Milan and looks set to continue as the second-choice option in goal, but whilst Loftus-Cheek has shown signs of his potential with his silky dribbling skills, direct running and physicality, injuries have prevented him from becoming a regular contributor.
Unlike his former Chelsea teammate Pulisic, the English midfielder hasn't come close to justifying his price tag of €15m plus €3m in bonuses. Neither has Yunus Musah, who joined from Valencia for €21.2 million. The American midfielder reached a new low on Sunday after committing a sloppy touch and gifting Fiorentina their opener, being caught out in their second goal, prompting Conceição to sub him off in the 24th minute.
Argentine duo Marco Pellegrino and Luka Romero both struggled to impress before deciding to return to the other side of the Atlantic, whilst Noah Okafor made the move to Napoli on loan after failing to impress following a €15.5m move from Red Bull Salzburg. Neither Okafor nor Luka Jović have managed to launch a convincing argument to the center forward position, whilst summer 2024 signings Tammy Abraham and Álvaro Morata also haven't been able to lay claim to the 9 role.
With Milan in desperate need of a new center forward (among other things), there's every reason to believe that there will be a fire sale this summer at the San Siro, and yet another player who could find himself on the chopping block is Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze.
Born in Amaokwe Ugba Ibeku, Abia State, Chukwueze grew up idolizing Arjen Robben and compatriot Jay-Jay Okocha and quickly emerged as one of the most exciting attacking talents in Nigeria, leading his nation to victory in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup where he earned the Bronze Boot. These stellar displays in Chile earned him the attention of Spanish club Villarreal, who brought him to the club in 2017 after he turned 18.
Over the next few years, Chukwueze would go from playing for Villarreal's reserves to establishing himself as one of the most eye-catching wingers in Spain's top-flight and in European competition. He finished atop the assist leaderboards in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League season and guided the Yellow Submarine to their first-ever European trophy, before playing a pivotal role in their run to the Champions League semifinals the following season.
Chukwueze reached the best numbers of his entire career in 2022/23 and racked up 13 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances, enough to see him named the the 2022/2023 LaLiga Santander African MVP, edging the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Yassine Bounou, and Iñaki Williams to the award.
It was clear that a player of his caliber deserved to be playing Champions League football, and it's why Milan splurged €21.1 million on him and tied him down to a contract through 2028. It seemed that Chukwueze was set to succeed where previous wingers like Alexis Saelemaekers, Junior Messias, Samu Castillejo, Jens Petter Hauge, and Ante Rebić had failed. It seemed Milan finally had a player to take the creative burden off Rafael Leão's shoulders.
Instead, Chukwueze failed to deliver on the lofty expectations and never quite established a starting spot under Stefano Pioli. He missed out on various matches due to two separate hamstring injuries as well as his trip to the Ivory Coast, where he led Nigeria to the AFCON Final, but even when he was playing, he struggled for consistency and managed just 3 goals and 3 assists in 33 appearances.
Despite a promising preseason under Paulo Fonseca, despite being entrusted with regular starting appearances, Chukwueze was unable to transmit his superb LaLiga form to Serie A. His last start came on December 29 in a 1-1 draw vs. Roma, with Fonseca being dismissed after the match. Conceição was given the reins and got off to a scintillating start by leading Milan to their first trophy in nearly three years with the Supercoppa Italiana.
Chukwueze, meanwhile, would miss the first month of the Conceição era due to a hamstring issue...
Since returning from injury, Chukwueze has come off the bench in six league matches and been left on the bench for the other five. When he is given the rare opportunity to impact proceedings, he often overcomplicates things and leaves plenty to be desired in terms of his end product and decision-making in the final third.
“Samuel Chukwueze’s time in Milan has not been very consistent," stated Nigeria legend Mutiu Adepoju. "He needs to work harder because if you leave Milan and go somewhere else and still have the same level of performance, that would be a huge mistake."
"He needs to work more so that he can get into the team and play consistently, and from there, his career will go up," added Adepoju, who guided Nigeria to glory in the 1994 AFCON and also led them to their first-ever World Cup that same year.
Having managed just 5 goals and 1 assist in 32 appearances, Chukwueze has dropped further and further down the pecking order at Milan, with January signings Riccardo Sottil and João Félix as well as Álex Jiménez, Leão and Pulisic being selected ahead of him. It means that, when he gets onto the pitch, he tries to do too much and ends up frustrating the entire team in the process.
After coming on for the final six minutes of their cup match vs. Inter, Chukwueze was given a quarter-hour to influence the match and help Milan secure an improbable comeback win vs. Fiorentina. Instead, he failed to complete either of his two dribble attempts, won just one of four ground duels, gave away one foul, and conceded possession on six occasions.
With less than two months remaining in the 2024/25 campaign, time is running out for Chukwueze to convince Milan of his merits. It's why, in just a few weeks, Milan will find themselves with a tough decision to make: keep the faith in their 25-year-old Nigerian winger, or cash in on him before his stock drops even further.
