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Kevin-Prince Boateng needs Milan, but they need him too

Kevin-Prince Boateng needs Milan, but they need him too

The Ghana midfielder looks set to leave Schalke and move back to Serie A, it's a move that could suit all involved

Reports in Italy on Tuesday indicate that Kevin-Prince Boateng is on the brink of ending his miserable stay at Schalke 04 and securing a return to former club AC Milan.

 

The news won’t come a moment too soon for the Ghana midfielder, whose career has essentially been put on hold in the Bundesliga.

Prince made only 11 starts in the German top flight last season due to issues with injury and form, and his career at the Veltins-Arena appeared to have ended following a 2-0 away loss at FC Koln. In the wake of this match, club chief Horst Heldt announced that both Prince and German-Nigerian winger Sidney Sam had been released from the club for their part in the dismal showing.

 

The statement was later repealed (or retranslated, depending on who you believe), and Boateng remained at Schalke. However, with his relationship with Heldt having broken down completely, and with the sporting director confirming that he would not release the Black Star on a free transfer to join another club, the outlook looked bleak.

 There were various clubs linked with the midfielder during the summer—with major clubs in Turkey and Major League Soccer rumoured to be close to a move at one point or another—but ultimately, none saw fit to gamble on a player with a chequered track record. The transfer window closed, and Prince stayed put, with the prospect of him rotting in the stands all season—a reality mooted by Heldt—looming large.

Then, Milan, like a ghost ship responding to an SOS distress signal, steamed out of the mist to Boateng’s rescue, offering him the chance to impress them on the training field.
It looks as though he has done just that, and TMW revealed on Monday that the Rossoneri were keen to sign the player on a six-month deal in the January transfer window, with Boateng having impressed in training and in a recent friendly outing against rivals Inter Milan—a game in which he was the victim of racial abuse.
Prince’s inactivity may soon be at an end.

The Black Star enjoyed three years—and arguably the best spell of his career—at Milan after moving to the club from Portsmouth in 2010.
He featured over 70 times in Serie A for the Lombardy giants, winning the title in 2011, and also playing his part in the Super Cup triumph of 2011. He scored five goals in 19 league games during the 2011-12 season, as Milan, then under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri, finished just four points behind eventual champions Juventus
Allegri often knew how to get the best out of Boateng’s skillset, notably in victories over Juventus when, in 2012, the Ghanaian was used as a centre-forward, troubling both centre back Leonardo Bonucci and deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo with his energy, hassling and work rate.


While the player typically made his name as a central midfielder, or box-to-box operator, here he thrived as a centre-forward-cum-false nine-cum first line of the defensive block.


18 month earlier, he had featured at the pinnacle of a midfield diamond behind Milan’s front two of Antonio Cassano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in another victory.
Beyond those latter two talents, that Milan team featured the likes of Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Robinho, as well as Pirlo, who had yet to make his transition to Juve.


They were some of the dying remnants of Milan’s last great team, and the Rossoneri outfit that Boateng will find himself a part of come January is a far cry from its predecessor in terms of class, quality, prestige or status.


A Carlos Bacca penalty and Luiz Adriano header—his second Serie A goal of the season—helped Milan to a 2-1 triumph over ten-men Sassuolo at the weekend. The key headline ahead of the match—and one that highlights the club’s current malaise—was Sinisa Mihajlovic’s decision to drop the underperforming Diego Lopez for 16-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.


The teenager became the youngest stopper to debut in Serie A for 35 years, but his inclusion was a sign of the panic and the last-resort kind of thinking that has abounded at the San Siro for some time.


They finished 10th in the Italian top flight last season—the kind of finish that would have been unthinkable during Boateng’s time at the club—and ended the campaign a whopping 35 points behind champions Juventus.


This season, things aren’t going any better, and Milan remain in 10th after nine matches. They have won four and lost four—the perfect symbol of chronic inconsistency—and have conceded 15 goals (only whipping boys Carpi have conceded more).


While their leaky defence (Milan have not help a clean sheet all season) has received much of the attention and the criticism, the centre of midfield needs a major overhaul—a reality that ought to see Milan celebrate Boateng’s return, despite his troubles.
Apart, perhaps, from 30-year-old Nigel de Jong, Milan’s midfield options are an unhappy collection of those that can harry but are unable to use the ball, and those who can pass, but who do not possess the physicality or the tenacity to assert themselves and win the ball back.


Not every central midfielder needs to have every quality, but the introduction of a good all-rounded like Boateng, a dynamic presence who has proved his versatility in a finer Milanese generation, could help the Rossoneri establish themselves in matches and take control of contests.
Boateng, inactive and unwanted at Schalke, certainly needs Milan, but the Rossoneri might just need him too!

 

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