Milan have officially announced the acquisition of Alessandro Florenzi on a season-long loan with an option to buy. In his first interview since arriving from Roma, the Euro 2020 winner highlighted the experience he is bringing to this juvenile Rossoneri squad.
Speaking to MilanTV (via SempreMilan) for the first time since completing his loan arrival, Florenzi admitted his presence should bring a much-needed experience to Stefano Pioli’s relatively young team.
“I feel that I’m now a man with experience even though I’m only 30. I have taken part in many important things, and it’s that experience I want to bring to Milan,” Florenzi said.
“There’s Kjaer, Ibra, Giroud, and now me.”
Florenzi spent last season on loan at Paris Saint-Germain. Despite racking up 36 appearances in all competitions, the 30-year-old failed to land a permanent contract in Ligue 1. Instead, PSG decided to move in the direction of ex-Inter right-back Achraf Hakimi.
As a result, the versatile right-sided star has returned to his homeland. Except for the 2020/21 campaign and a brief loan spell at Valencia the year before, Florenzi has spent the remainder of his career in Italy. A temporary move to the San Siro will be his third loan spell away from his boyhood club Roma.
Florenzi was part of the Italy national team that won the Euro 2020 under the stewardship of Roberto Mancini. His experience and well-documented combative mentality will come in handy as Milan look to mount a serious title challenge this term after finishing runners-up last season.
Florenzi should compete with Davide Calabria for the place in Pioli’s starting XI as it looks improbable he arrived to play understudy to his younger compatriot. After taking part in his first training session at Milanello, he could be in contention for Milan’s Serie A curtain-raiser against Sampdoria on Monday.