Ex-Milan forward Hernan Crespo said Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo would be perfect for Stefano Pioli’s set up but must adapt his mentality.
The Italy international in on the Rossoneri’s summer transfer wish list, according to recent reports, and Crespo said he would improve his former club.
Asked by Gazzetta dello Sport how Zaniolo would fit in at Milan, Crespo said: “Really well. On the right wing, he would be like the cherry on top. However…”
Pushed to elaborate, he added: “Pioli’s Milan won the Scudetto because they had a fantastic team spirit, because everyone helped each other out and that is how they overcame difficulties.
“Zaniolo, if he really does got o Milan, would need to adapt to this spirit. It is he would nee to adapt to Milan, not the other way around.
“He will need to prove himself ready to track down opponents, ready to win back the ball, aggressive in the pressing. For him, it would be a jump in quality which would help him reach his level.”
Zaniolo burst onto the scene with a super 2018-19 season with Roma at the age of 19. However, he then suffered back-to-back serious knee injuries which hampered his development.
He appears to have recovered this campaign and, on Wednesday, scored the winner in the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord.
Crespo spent one season with Milan, in 2004-05, where he scored twice in the Champions League final when the Rossoneri blew a 3-0 lead to draw and lose on penalties to Liverpool in Istanbul.
The former Argentina international is now manager of Qatari side Al-Duhail.
Crespo: "Zaniolo perfetto per il gioco di Pioli. E con Maldini crescerà" #calciomercato https://t.co/KAwfUQfp3S
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) May 29, 2022
Really nice indeed a very good talent, him on the right and Rafel on the left=💣
Dybala in the middle of Leao and Zaniolo… Let Inter have Lukaku. Lol.
I disagree with half of this. Zaniolo is such a better AM than RW. He would be perfect for Milan but as an AM not a RW.
All these young Italian potential stars…..Zaniolo, Scammacca, etc, why is it that they need to go anywhere. Whats wrong with Zaniolo staying at Roma and being part of a core to help Roma win a championship. Chiessa too-he would have been better off staying at Fiorentina. Roma, Fiorentina, Torino, Bologna-all these teams have a great history too and it would serve Italian soccer in general-the league and the national team, for these young talents to stay at their respective clubs where they are starters week in week out, rather than pressuring them to the so called big clubs, where they wither. This would be great for the respective teams so they can compete and make for a better serie A, great for their development into potential stars and their self confidence.
Because they need to experience champions League, chiessa ain’t gonna play champions League football with Florence, torino, bologna and their respective club when they are starters week in and week out, they need to face tougher competition to develop into world stars, or do you really want them to be like belotti, immobile?
Peler, you make a good point but with the exception of a few young Italian players like Baresi, Calabria, many of these young potential stars don’t get the playing time at those big clubs and hence don’t develop. This is a problem-if you don’t play , you rust and just can’t improve. There was so much hype for Bernadeschi, for example at his start in his career and Juventus has done him no good. Same for Gagliardini at Inter-was touted as a future star. Look at what happened to El Sharrawi-when he came out at, he was a future star, Milan ruined him.Now, we have Moise Kean, who was so highly regarded in the under 21 team and he too is sitting on the bench. Tonali, another potential star, doesn’t play week in week out either. So, my concern is that they don’t get a chance to develop-so what if the big clubs are playing in the champions league if our young Italian talent are sitting on the bench. What gives you confidence that a move to a big club for Zaniolo, Scammaca, etc would not result in the same fate? Bellotti shouldn’t be on the national team, not because he plays for Torino, but because he isn’t good enough. As for Immobile, you may recall back in 2014 WC and 2016 Euros we fans were screaming for his inclusion to the team. I don’t have an answer for his lack of scoring for the azzurri-he has played in uefa europa league for LAZIO , won the eufa europa league top scorer, in 2017-18, and has 24 goals in 40 europa league appearances. So to your point-they need tougher competition-Immobile faced tougher competition in Europa league, scored his share, but it didn’t result in a better Immobile for Italy. However, I’m not prepared to solely blame him for Italy’s failure to qualify for 2 world cups.