Yacine Adli joined AC Milan in the summer of 2021, and it is fair to say that his time at the club has not been plain sailing. The Frenchman has had to work hard for his opportunity to impress, and this season, he has seen his playing time increase as Stefano Pioli has experimented with his midfield composition.
After his loan spell with Bordeaux, there was a lot of intrigue about what role the midfielder would play in the Rossoneri’s team. However, Adli only played 140 minutes for Milan in his first ‘proper’ season at the club, leaving many to question what his future looked like.
This season, with Pioli’s experimentation with his formations partnered with injuries and absences in the midfield, he has been granted chances to impress, which he has taken with both hands and shown his ability.
Whilst he was signed as a more attacking-minded player, this season, he has been deployed in a deeper role, which is a testament to the work he has put in behind closed doors. In a recent interview with SportWeek, he spoke about his value to the team and the changes he has had to make to be able to play in a more defensive-minded position.
On the period without playing time…
“Doubting myself? Never. I would have left. But the quality I put into my work every day made me confident. I knew I was still missing something, but I also knew that something was coming. I tried to work hard, not waste time and look ahead. There was a bit of adaptation, tactical and physical, missing on my end for this football.”
On his characteristics…
“I’m an atypical player: I can play a deep-sitting midfield, an attacking midfielder, I have played as a left winger and false nine. I don’t have the strong legs of someone who sprints 40 meters and leaves the opponent behind, but I understand the timing of the game, I ‘see’ passes that not everyone sees.”
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