In this strange and troubled Milan season, made up of many lows, few highs, and several situations on the verge of the indecipherable, it seems that the Rossoneri world has somewhat forgotten about a player who has clearly fallen short of all the expectations with which he arrived in Italy nearly two years ago.
We're talking about Samuel Chukwueze, Nigerian right winger born in 1999. This year he has made 33 appearances in all competitions, but only 12 as a starter, scoring 5 goals and providing just one assist.
The former Villarreal player, after an extremely disappointing first season, seemed in the summer to be one of the players that Fonseca would then be able to relaunch: the former Lille coach used him a lot during preseason, and the winger responded in a decidedly positive way. But it didn’t go any further: Chukwueze soon became evanescent, and between injuries and anonymous performances, he returned to the bench.
With Conceição, things, aside from the random exploit at San Siro against Parma, have gone even worse: since the former Porto coach has been on the Rossoneri bench, Chukwueze has accumulated only 111 minutes in Serie A. Far too little for a player who cost 20 million euros (plus bonuses), earns 4 million euros net in salary, and arrived in Milan with completely different expectations.
What's going wrong with Chukwueze?
First of all, the fact that in Italy the style of play is totally different compared to that in Spain: in La Liga, the winger was able to find spaces that don’t exist in Serie A and thus must be found with intelligence and unpredictability. And here we get to the sorest point: number 21 is one-footed and one-dimensional, highly readable by everyone in all situations. Or at least, he is when asked to be a less associative player and less inclined to interplay through the central lines of the field, "relegating" him to having to beat his man on the wing in one-on-one or even two-on-one situations. Samu struggles terribly over long distances, while in tight spaces he manages to be a bit more incisive. But tactical and characteristic misunderstandings aside, the Nigerian’s contribution has been objectively insufficient, with or without excuses. A situation that now demands some reflection as the transfer window opens.
What about Chukwueze's future?
At the end of the season, he will have a remaining book value of just under 13 million euros: this is the minimum amount the Rossoneri must receive in order not to incur a capital loss. It seems inevitable that the paths may part ways. Two years are enough to judge a player, especially when he is no longer that young. And it is clear that Chukwueze at Milan has been a bitter disappointment.
Source: Milannews.it
