AC MILAN ARE SAID TO BE IN ADVANCED TALKS WITH GRANIT XHAKA OF BAYER LEVERKUSEN.
THE 32-YEAR-OLD MIDFIELDER LOOKS LIKELY TO PLAY IN SERIE A FOR THE FIRST TIME, KNOWING THAT AS ROMA SHOWED INTEREST IN 2021, BUT ARSENAL REJECTED THE OFFER.
XHAKA IS AN EXPERIENCED MIDFIELDER WHO HAS ALREADY HAD A VERY RICH AND ADVENTUROUS FOOTBALL CAREER.
HE STARTED HIS SENIOR CAREER AT FC BASEL FROM 2010 TO 2012 AND THEN MOVED TO BUNDESLIGA SIDE BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH, WHERE HE STAYED UNTIL 2016.
AFTERWARDS, XHAKA BECAME MORE FAMOUS TO FOOTBALL FANS AROUND THE WORLD FOLLOWING HIS MOVE TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE WITH THE GUNNERS.
HE SPENT SEVEN SEASONS THERE AND WAS GIVEN THE CAPTAINCY ARMBAND AT THE START OF THE 2019/2020 SEASON.
IN 2023, HE MOVED TO BAYER LEVERKUSEN FOR A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH A FEE OF €25M.
IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT XHAKA IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL PLAYERS WITHIN THE SWISS NATIONAL TEAM, SERVING AS CAPTAIN ON MANY OCCASIONS AND BEING ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED LEADERS IN THE TEAM.
HIS INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IS VALUABLE IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE AND MATURITY.
IT IS TRUE THAT XHAKA’S PERFORMANCES HAVE GONE THROUGH UPS AND DOWNS, ESPECIALLY DURING HIS SPELL WITH ARSENAL, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT HE LACKS CONSISTENCY IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE.
IT RATHER CONFIRMS THE FACT THAT HE USUALLY NEEDS CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS AND A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
I ROSSONERI CAN MORE LIKELY GUARANTEE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS, DISCIPLINE ON AND OFF THE PITCH, AND AN ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENT, ESPECIALLY UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF SOMEONE LIKE MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI.
THIS SHOULD HELP XHAKA PERFORM MORE CONSISTENTLY.
THIS TACTICAL ANALYSIS AND SCOUT REPORT WILL, THEREFORE, EXAMINE XHAKA’S CURRENT TRAITS AND ABILITIES IN MIDFIELD IN TERMS OF PLAYMAKING, DRIBBLING, AND SHOOTING.
THE ANALYSIS WILL ALSO EXPLORE HOW XHAKA FITS IN THE CURRENT MILAN AND WHERE EXACTLY HE CAN PLAY, IN ADDITION TO HIS POSSIBLE ROLES WITHIN ALLEGRI’S TACTICS.
GRANIT XHAKA POSSIBLE POSITION & ROLES AT AC MILAN
BEFORE DELVING INTO THE STUDY OF XHAKA’S POSSIBLE POSITIONS AND ROLES, IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT XHAKA IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PLAYER WHO HAS ALREADY WON THE SWISS YOUTH FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR IN 2012, THE SWISS FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR IN 2017, 2022, AND 2023, THE SWISS SUPER LEAGUE TWICE, THE SWISS CUP, THE FA CUP TWICE, THE FA COMMUNITY SHIELD TWICE, THE BUNDESLIGA, AND THE DFB-POKAL.
FURTHERMORE, XHAKA WAS CRUCIAL IN XABI ALONSO’S BUNDESLIGA AND UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE JOURNEY DURING THE 2023/2024 SEASON WHEN BAYER LEVERKUSEN PULLED OFF THE SURPRISE OF THE SEASON, WINNING THE LEAGUE TITLE AND REACHING THE FINAL OF THE EUROPA LEAGUE.
XHAKA IS STILL AS USEFUL AS EVER BEFORE.
ALLEGRI WOULD LIKELY USE HIM AS A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER, SINCE THE COACH BELIEVES A LOT IN HAVING A “REGISTA”, AND CONSIDERS IT OBLIGATORY TO PLAY WITH A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER AND TWO CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS.
MOREOVER, HE PREFERS TO HAVE A PHYSICALLY POWERFUL YET VERY TECHNICAL MIDFIELDER IN THIS POSITION; XHAKA PERFECTLY SUITS THESE NEEDS.
FURTHERMORE, PLAYING WITH THE LEFT FOOT WOULD ALSO ADD TO THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF XHAKA’S KEY PASSES AND FEINTS IN FRONT OF THE DEFENCE, AS SERIE A TEAMS DO NOT KNOW HIM WELL ALREADY AND WILL MORE LIKELY FALL IN THE TRAP OF UNDERESTIMATING HIS VALUE IN MIDFIELD.
THAT SAID, IT WILL BE FOR XHAKA HIMSELF TO CONFIRM HIS VALUE AND HIS POTENTIAL INPUT WITHIN THE TEAM, KNOWING THAT HE HAS THE QUALITIES NEEDED TO ADAPT TO THE SERIE A ENVIRONMENT.
GRANIT XHAKA HEAT MAP
THE FOLLOWING HEAT MAP CONFIRMS THAT XHAKA IS USED TO PLAYING AS A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER AND AS A CENTRAL MIDFIELDER, WITH MOVEMENTS INSIDE THE OPPONENT’S HALF.
IF ALLEGRI PLAYS HIM AS A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER, XHAKA’S REQUIRED POSITIONING WILL MORE LIKELY CHANGE TO COVER THE AREA IN FRONT OF MILAN’S DEFENCE INSTEAD OF ADVANCING TO THE OPPONENT’S HALF.
KNOWING HOW TO QUICKLY LEARN ABOUT MILAN’S STYLE OF PLAY AND THE OPPONENTS, IN ADDITION TO APPLYING WHAT IS NEEDED TO BE READY TO WIN DUELS AND MAKE THE NEEDED DIFFERENCE, WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR HIM TO SUCCEED WITH MILAN.
SUPPOSE HE IS USED AS A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER.
