Why Milan should consider parting ways with Youssouf Fofana in January

Youssouf Fofana’s time at Milan began with flying colours last season. The Rossoneri put in quite a bit of effort to land the Frenchman from Monaco, even beating Premier League competition to bring him to the San Siro.

He was a bright light in the darkness of last season and with Tijjani Reijnders leaving, he was seen as someone who can take over the midfield – even if Luka Modric was on his way.

Fast forward to this season, the promise has faded. After being one of the best players at Milan, Fofana has become a laughing stock under Max Allegri. His weaknesses have come to the fore again and again, with the recent miss against Genoa proving to be a comical reminder of his fall from grace.

It is fair to say that January isn’t the best time to do business and Milan know that, especially after Santiago Gimenez’s struggles. But Fofana seems to be lacking the tools needed to make a mark under Allegri. This has often left Modric all alone in hunting down in defence, especially when the Frenchman has played alongside him.

Allegri isn’t going anywhere atleast in the short to the medium term. Despite the recent failures, Milan are still in a title race and could yet win the Scudetto in the Italian’s first season.

Fofana doesn’t fit Allegri’s system

His system relies on ground coverage and has a lot of players who bomb up the down. If not that, there are players who can dictate the tempo of play, increase it when needed or reduce it when there is a requirement. Fofana doesn’t belong to either category.

He is better suited to a possession-based setup where he is given the license to be the unpredictable Fofana that ventures forward, constantly tries and creates. Even if defensive midfield isn’t his best role, he made it work last season but it won’t work in the longer term.

He adds more chaos to the setup than Allegri would like and it makes everything seem riskier than usual.

Fofana isn’t difficult to replace

The Frenchman is a risk-taker who will thrive if Milan have more of the ball. The Rossoneri don’t do that and considering where the game is going, it would be easy to find a replacement who is less of a chaotic outlet in advanced midfield.

Samuele Ricci himself has played that role at Torino and he could have a future there. Ruben Loftus-Cheek can still depart but he has shown glimpses of being capable enough to play that role under different managers.

Besides, Fofana’s value is still high enough. The way it is going, it will only go down. Perhaps, it is best that Milan take action when the time is right.