AC Milan’s Primavera side might have lost the final of the UEFA Youth League against Olympiacos, but the future is still very bright for the youth sector.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, no Italian club had ever reached the final of the Youth League and for many players in the Primavera it will be a turning point. Despite a tight play-off race in the league, the planning for next season has begun.
For some, the time will come to say goodbye. For others there will be contractual issues to resolve, while for some new prospects could soon open up. The reference is to a hypothetical U23 team, an increasingly concrete idea around Milanello.
Milan B
The starting point is the U23 team. Milan have been thinking about this option for a while, primarily to encourage and accelerate the development of many interesting young talents in senior football.
This has been done in recent years by Juve and Atalanta, the other two clubs in Italy that have embraced the project. The decisionhas been made, but to move forward the non-registration of a club to Serie C is needed to free up a slot that could be occupied by the Rossoneri.
Ignazio Abate is doing an excellent job with the Primavera and his future will be a topic, also because he is out of contract. At the moment, it seems that Daniele Bonera – currently on Stefano Pioli’s staff – is likely to be the U23 manager.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is supervising the matter, while Jovan Kirovski is expected to take on the role of sporting director, ready for a new adventure after 11 years as technical director of the Los Angeles Galaxy. For the stadium, one of the options is the Stadio Ernesto Breda in Sesto San Giovanni.
The 2004 class
The premise is that with the season in its crucial phase any evaluation for the Primavera could undergo a change, especially considering a second team on the horizon. Another factor that could mix up the cards is that next year the Primavera 1 championship will become Under 20.
This year, the cut-off is the 2005-born players, but the regulation foresees six 2004s as being out of quota. In this sense, Milan has forged ahead, focusing especially on a group of 2006 and 2007 players to raise the bar and get the boys out of the comfort zone.
The only 2004 players under Abate’s orders are the goalkeeper Andrea Bartoccioni and the central Clinton Nsiala, on whom evaluations will be made.
The defender is linked to the Rossoneri by a contract that expires in 2024 and was among the pillars of a group that reached the Youth League Final Four twice in a row, again a unique result for an Italian. The many injuries that plagued the first team led Pioli to call him up on six occasions.
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