Milan Player Report Card: 2023-24

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Here we go folks. Your 2023/24 report card for all returning Milan players and Mister Pioli. I did our season grades for new transfers and loanees in the last few weeks and I recommend you check those out for grades on those players including Pulisic, Reijnders, RLC, and Milan’s youth players not covered below, among others.

Players are listed in order of minutes played followed by their stats for the year and finally a grade. Grades take into account expectations of the year. Did they overachieve or under achieve? Were they so bad we had to look elsewhere? On to the grading!

Returning Players

Theo Hernández
Theo Hernández
26 YO
5 G 11 A 4055 Minutes
This makes 5 years now for Theo at Milan. 5 years already? Hard to believe.  Every year he has made a ton of appearances and played a ton of minutes. With that has come big expectations and he’s come through every single year. This year was no different. Week to week his role can change depending on the opponent. Some games he’s dashing through the middle and others he’s tasked with defending another team’s star player. During the early year injury crisis he filled in at CB and exceeded expectations. No matter what is asked he does the job and does it well. There’s no wonder every summer he’s rumored to go to places like Bayern and PSG. He’s looking for an extension and a raise. He’s earned it. 
 
GRADE: A+
Mike Maignan
Mike Maignan
28 YO
11 Clean Sheets 3702 Minutes
A solid year from Maignan but not a great one. The great saves were there but at times, especially early on, he had a mistake in him. Much better down the stretch I thought. Every year at Milan his stats have gotten progressively worse. Clean sheets went from 29 in his first 68 games to just 11 in 42 this year. His first 2 years he was giving up less than a goal per game, conceding 59 in 68 games. This year?  It was 1.24 goals per game as he conceded 52 in 42 games. To be fair early in the year we were down to our 7th and 8th CB and our defense remained a work in progress all year. I can see why folks might be all for selling him but I would caution that. Unless we are blown away by some insane offer you keep him. He’s a difference maker. 
 
GRADE: B
Rafael Leão
Rafael Leão
24 YO
15 G 14 A 3545 Minutes
A solid if not transformative year for Leão. There seemed to be a real emphasis on passing, crossing and just general playmaking. Part of that came from him struggling mightily to finish in the early CL games. To that end he led Serie A in chances created this year and finished with 10 assists in the league. He’s in double digits in both goals and assists in all comps. If there’s any regret from this year it’s the lack of finishing in big games, especially in Europe. In the home legs against both Newcastle and Dortmund he had a ton of chances and was unable to finish the job. It might not seem fair in the grand scheme of things but those are the moments folks remember. They are also the chances high paid stars are expected to finish. Next year that goal total needs to hit the 20 mark. 
 
GRADE: A
Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud
37 YO
17 G 9 A Minutes
There was a lot of complaining about Giroud this year but you can’t argue with facts. He was 4th in goals with 14 and was just 1 assist behind the league leader with 8. He’s been the focal point of the offense since arriving 3 years ago as the Vice-Ibra at the ripe age of 35. Since then he’s done nothing but score goals and lead the line. One of the last real number 9’s lurking. With Pioli leaving it will be interesting to see if we get a like for like replacement there or something different. One thing we know for sure is that we won’t get another Giroud. 
 
GRADE: for a 37 year old? A+
David Calabria
David Calabria
27 YO
1 G 4 A 2968 Minutes
Sorely missed the defensive wing play of Saelemaekers in front of him this year. With Salad off to Bologna Calabria’s limits were exposed. He was on his own a lot. He no longer could roam to the midfield to help. Gone also were any runs through the middle that could lead to the random goal. Really peaked 2 years ago during the scudetto campaign. Now just a placeholder in a team with expectations that can’t really have placeholders. One of the questions of the summer is whether we buy a RB or just roll with him and Florenzi for one more season. Has just one year left on his deal and can’t imagine him getting extended. If we sign a new starter at RB it’s possible the club moves him to a mid table team for a small profit. 
 
GRADE: C-
Fikayo Tomori
Fikayo Tomori
26 YO
4 G 0 A 2843 Minutes
Started off the season playing perhaps his best football. Then he missed time and the backline remained a bit of a game of musical chairs the rest of the season. Still has a mistake in him and often times lets his emotions get the best of him. Case in point his yellow cards have steadily gone up from 0 to 7 to 9 to 10. Not a good sign. That has to stop. He needs to become more of a leader in the back. This coming summer and next season will be huge for him. He has to start improving. At 26 he’s leveled off and not really fixing the issues he has. Is he a mainstay or is he a candidate to be sold? 
 
GRADE: B-
Malick Thiaw
Malick Thiaw
22 YO
0 G 1 A 2160 Minutes
Despite missing a chunk of the middle of the season I think we saw steady improvement. His standout performance was the most recent Juve game where he erased Vlahovic. Does best against big number 9s. Struggles more with athletic front lines. A big part of that is developing chemistry with a regular partner. Still young. At 22 he’s a baby for a CB. With his size and skill I could see someone offering big money for him. His ceiling is really high. Whether he’s sold or not depends on what the plan is in the back. 
 
GRADE: B+
Alessandro Florenzi
Alessandro Florenzi
33 YO
1 G 7 A  2137 Minutes

Great numbers for your part time RB/LB/RW. Love this guy and his old man game. Always comes in and does a job. Can fill in at either FB or wing spot without complaint. Puts in excellent crosses. Never had the size and is losing the speed but still a valuable backup. Also if you had ‘Florenzi header’ on your Milan goal bingo card you finally cashed that chip. Seems like the kind of guy that would make an excellent youth coach some day. One year left on his deal where he likely remains a utility guy. 

 
GRADE: B+
Yacine Adli
Yacine Adli
23 YO
1 G 2 A 1858 Minutes
Still somewhat of a mystery but we at east got to see his game this year. Little was expected but once he got time he earned regular minutes. On the plus side he has excellent vision, can pick a long pass and also has a nice curling shot when getting close to goal. He’s a great maestro on the ball that is an excellent play maker. On the down side he still lacks some physicality for his size, is slow and needs to close down quicker when defending. He’s not really a DM because he can’t cover that kind of ground. He’s better in the attack. I think his ideal role would be as a mezzala in a 433 where he has a true DM to clean up after him. With the right coach and system he could explode. With another coach he’s sold. System dependent. 

GRADE: B+
Matteo Gabbia
Matteo Gabbia
24 YO
3 G 1 A 1808 Minutes
Second half MVP. Was recalled from a loan move to Villareal at midseason and completely settled the back line. Made 24 appearances after that recall including 19 starts. He was an immediate presence when we desperately needed one. Also scored 3 goals from CB in barely half a season. Pretty damn good. He’s kind of the same player as Thiaw so they don’t appear to make a good pairing. Probably means eventually one will go. 
 
GRADE: A
Simon Kjær
Simon Kjær
35 YO
0 G 1 A 1464 minutes
Obviously at the end of the road but grateful for everything he’s done. My favorite player of the Pioli era. 
 
GRADE: C
Ismael Bennacer
Ismael Bennacer
26 YO
2 G 2 A 1335 Minutes
I think he’s broken. Injuries have robbed him of the speed and quickness he so much relied on. Without that he’s just a slow, little guy getting bullied nonstop. Felt like the whole team had to pitch in to cover for his shortcomings. Maybe next year he’s finally totally fit? With 4 years left on his extension we will likely find out one way or the other. There are whispers of him going to Saudi but I really doubt it. Also lose the leggings dude. You look like a rec player. Minutes the last 4 years? 1906 2100 2732 1335. Just not good enough. 
GRADE: C
Rade Krunic
Rade Krunic
Thank the lord that Reijnders and Adli stepped up. Made it easy to send this guy off to outer Siberia. At the end of the day he had to be shipped out so Pioli would no longer play him. 
 
GRADE: F
Pierre Kalulu
Pierre Kalulu
23 YO
 0 G 0 A 504 minutes
Feels like 2 lost years for him now. Still only 23 though with buckets of talent. Some nice appearances down the stretch to remind us of who he is and what he can do. Can we just plug him in at RB and be done with the Calabria thing? 
 
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
Tommaso Pobega
Tommaso Pobega
24 YO
0 G 0 A 464 minutes
Saw some time in the beginning but was ultimately squeezed out by Reijnders and Adli. Wise to keep him around with all the questions in the midfield but is now expendable. You know how it looks really good on the books if we sell home grown players? Even if it’s for just say 10-12 million? 

Yeah…. 

 
GRADE: D
Jan-Carlo Simic
Jan-Carlo Simic
20 YO
1 G 0 A  261 minutes
MT is clamoring for him to be a starter or something. Relax. He’s 20. He certainly looks the part. I will give him that. Sign him for good right now. Let’s see what he does this summer. Maybe he’s ready? Most likely we loan him out to either a newly promoted or Serie B team and let him get 30-35 starts. 
 
GRADE: B
Álex Jiménez
Álex Jiménez
19 YO
0 G 0 A  207 minutes
Barely saw him and when we did it wasn’t pretty. Chances are we see a lot of him next year when he’s the backup LB and starts getting some real time.  
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
Antonio Mirante
Antonio Mirante
40 YO

He played…
 
GRADE: C
Davide Bartesaghi
Davide Bartesaghi
18 YO
0 G 0 A 85 minutes
Part of a legion of help in the back line. A lot of decisions need made back there. Hard to say where an 18 year old fits. 
 
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
Kevin Zeroli
Kevin Zeroli
19 YO
G A 35 minutes
Great Primavera season this year. Led the team to the UEFA Youth League Finals. Will be interesting to see what his next step is. Like Simic he has a bright future but still needs a lot of time. 
 
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
Mattia Caldara
Mattia Caldara
30 YO
G A 32 minutes
WHO??? WHO PLAYED??? CALDARA?…CALDARA PLAYED???…CALDARA PLAYED!!!
 
GRADE: INCOMPLETE…low attendance
Francesco Camarda
Francesco Camarda
16 YO
G A 12 minutes
He’s either the next Mastour or he’s not. Time will tell. 
 
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
Stefano Pioli
Stefano Pioli

Year 5 for Pioli proved to be his most challenging yet IMO. Milan came into the year having completely rebuilt the midfield and also adding a lot of pieces to the attack. The back 4 returned completely intact along with Maignan in goal. A funny thing happened throughout the summer friendlies though. The attack came together almost on day 1. RLC and Pulisic were plugged in basically from the start and were a perfect fit. Reijnders stepped into the midfield during the summer friendlies in the states and would go on to lead the team in appearances this year.

Conversely the defense would be shabby to start and eventually become a full on injury crisis before Gabbia’s return in January. Credit to Pioli for realizing his best attack right away and sticking with it. Credit also to him for realizing the importance of Reijnders and rotating the other mids depending on the opponent.

It wasn’t easy. Kudos to him also for slowly working in Jovic, Chukwueze and Okafor to where they all became super subs that had a great impact. Finally, it’s also credit to Pioli for jamming in Gabbia right away after his return to settle the back end. 

On the other side I can’t help but blame Pioli for the mess at the back. Sure we had injuries and other issues but the back end has been unsettled for 2 years now. Our goals conceded is going up and up. Tomori doesn’t seem to be developing as he appears to be the same player he was 3 years ago. Watching Calabria start week after week became similar to a rash that would never go away. He probably also stuck with RLC at the CAM spot too long. I understand it worked right away, but I think he should have tinkered a little bit more along the way. He took way too long to plug in Pulisic in that spot and Chuk at RW and let them cook. To me that is absolutely the way forward. 

Still through all that we finished 2nd in the league. We made CL again. That is always job one and should never be taken for granted. No one at Milan cares about the Coppa so who cares. The CL exit came down to finishing. That’s not on pioli. The last I checked he last played a game in 1999. We were in the group of death with 2 teams that made the semis. No easy task. Yet, and if Leao or Giroud could have just scored 1 goal against Newcastle at home, WE WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH!!! 

Grade: A strong B

Wrap Up

The attack is good. The midfield is decent but needs a true CDM. The back has been mostly kept in place for 2 years now and it just isn’t working. After restocking the attack last summer, this might be the year to retool the back end. 

Priorities? New coach in place first and foremost. Then CDM, CB, ST, RB in that order depending on the new coaches system. 

Cheers

Lisi