At the 34th minute of this morning’s friendly between Milan and Virtus Entella, Fofana received the ball from his goalkeeper with his back to the pitch, took one touch too many, and lost possession under pressure. A few seconds later Adekanye scored the temporary 1-1. To be clear, the aim is not to attack a player for a mistake in a match designed above all to give minutes to Pulisic, Jashari, and Estupinan. Still, since Fofana’s season has been inconsistent, even a slip in a match like this can serve as an example.
Youssouf Fofana below par?
In one of the summer press conferences, Massimiliano Allegri mentioned Youssouf Fofana together with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, saying he expected at least 15 goals from the pair this year. For the Englishman, judging by his record, it is not unrealistic for him to be decisive near goal. The situation is different for the French midfielder who, especially at Milan, has never pushed much beyond his midfield duties. Among all the players in the squad, Fofana might be the one benefiting least from the change of system due to his traits. Allegri is asking him for more attacking work and runs into the box, and the feeling is the former Monaco midfielder is struggling a bit and delivering below his level, as relayed via Milannews.it
The season is still at an early stage. Allegri’s work has only begun and no one is expected to absorb his ideas from day one. To balance the criticism, some progress is visible. Fofana’s timing on his forward runs is strong and he often reaches dangerous areas to support the play. His ball recovery work is also strong, as it was last year. The problem comes when he must manage possession, where he looks unclear. Many promising situations have been wasted after good runs, and there have been many technical errors even in midfield areas. The 26-year-old also makes mistakes in his timing on the ball, as seen today and in other matches this season. His talent is not in question. Allegri still needs to find the right way to bring the best out of him.
