TMW: Milan begin hunt for Fofana’s deputy – the name that stands out

Youssouf Fofana is already beginning to show how important he is to Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan side, and the management are looking into signing a deputy.

According to Niccolò Ceccarini of TMW, one of the areas that Milan are focusing their attention is the midfield. Fofana is becoming increasingly essential in Fonseca’s tactical plans and is the ideal player to support a formation with the two strikers plus Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic.

His work in front of the defence is very important but one of the issues that has arisen is that there is no other player in the squad who has the same characteristics. Yunus Musah is a possibility but he has to get used to this position, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been inconsistent in terms of form and fitness.

Given the length of the season and the number of games to play, Milan could also decide to try and sign another defensive midfielder as early as the January window. It is still early but there is no shortage of reflections.

An idea leads to an old target also pursued in the summer window: Johnny Cardoso of Real Betis. He is very popular among the management, and the USA international already knows Pulisic and Musah.