Yacine Adli got the call to replace Rade Krunic against Cagliari and had a solid performance on both ends. Coach Stefano Pioli had been testing him in such a role in practice and didn’t shy away from trusting him when the starter went down.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, the solution wasn’t last-minute. The boss has been working on it since July. Milan initially thought Tijjani Reijnders would wind up starring there until Ismael Bennacer returned. However, they noticed it would have been too constraining considering his dynamism. They elected not to pursue a maestro afterward.
Adli more than held his own even though he used to play as a box-to-box, no.10, or even a winger in his past. He almost never featured in his maiden Serie A season. He commented to Sky after the match.
“I’m fine in this position. When the coach relayed it to me, I replied: ‘Just field me wherever you want, and I’m in. I can star even as a fullback for this team.”
Pioli addressed Adli ahead of the Lazio game.
“He had great patience and mental fortitude since he maintained the right attitude while playing little. I wanted something different as box-to-box and told him that. He decided to stay and deputize Krunic. He needed to adapt. It’s not a perfect fit, but he made himself available believing in his skills, which is key to play at high levels.”
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