Last 6 August, about a week before he was officially announced as a new AC Milan player, we had the opportunity to watch Zachary Athekame play live in a Basel–Young Boys early-season match.
These were our first impressions of a player who had ended up on the Rossoneri’s radar but was largely unknown to most, and still very young.
Today, with the Swiss full-back in the spotlight after the important goal he scored against Genoa, it is right to take stock almost a full sporting year later on one of the Diavolo’s summer signings.
Milan fans are eagerly waiting for the next match to see more flashes of Athekame’s potential. In the meantime, they keep their excitement levels high with https://pinup-bangladesh.net/.
Confirmed impressions
In the aftermath of the match that Young Boys, with Athekame, lost 4–1 to Basel, we wrote: “offensively, especially in the first half, he is proactive and reaches the byline on several occasions; defensively, he needs reviewing.” A general assessment that we feel we can confirm as this season draws to a close. Today Athekame, who, it is always worth remembering, is 21 years old, is exactly this kind of player: his best moments have come in attack, where he has always looked confident, even if sometimes a bit disorganised. The numbers, however, speak for themselves: in just 844 minutes played, he has managed to record two goals and two assists. The goals were important as well as very good-looking: he helped avoid defeat against Pisa at San Siro in the first half of the season and sealed the match at Marassi on Sunday. He has also stood out for the quality crosses he has delivered for his teammates, a trait that is becoming increasingly rare to find. The less positive aspects have been confirmed in his somewhat adventurous positioning and, in general, in a defensive phase that still shows plenty of room for improvement: again against Genoa, shortly after his goal, he is the one who carelessly loses Marcandalli, who then sets up the header from which the Grifone’s goal originates.
Positive note
Taking all this into account, Zachary Athekame can be considered a positive note of this season. It must be clear that we are not talking about a player who has transformed Allegri's Milan. Everything needs to be weighed against the player’s value and the spirit of the transfer operation that brought him to Milanello. The Swiss player was signed for his young age and potential, and above all he was brought in to serve as Alexis Saelemaekers’ understudy. And if that aspect is considered, it cannot be said that Athekame has not performed this role adequately. In fact, in recent weeks, he may even have been better than the Belgian. Looking at the season as a whole in numerical terms, Alexis has played more than three times the minutes but has not significantly outperformed Zachary in output: the same number of goals (2) and double the assists (4). Again, this is not to say that Athekame is stronger than Saelemaekers, but only to highlight the Swiss player’s solid season. The technical and physical tools are there; the technical ones will need to be patiently developed: Allegri, or whoever comes after him, has material to work with.
