Inside AC Milan, the alarming slide – and why the English core of Kyle Walker and Co fails to have an impact as the pressure goes on Sergio Conceicao

The hopes were raised at the start of the season. Who could expect AC Milan to fall in ninth place in Serie Table has only one season after being second and two years since their famous Scudetto?

More than 14 months after the return of the legend of the Zlatan Ibrahimovic club, the Rossoneri are currently on a sequence of three consecutive defeats after a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Lazio on Sunday.

This struggle occurs despite a remarkable pre-season campaign, with victories over Real Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona in the United States. However, a series of bad decisions led to the free fall of Italian giants.

Many would look at their team and highlight the number of world class players who would eventually start for many of their European rivals, such as Kyle Walker, Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori and the former Chelsea star and Barcelona Joao Felix.

The performance of the Portuguese player, in particular, requires a deeper examination, because it represents all of the disorder and chaos which is taking place within the team at the moment. The 25 -year -old was brought as an ideal adjustment for the new system of the Manager Sergio Conceicao with a classic n ° 10 behind the attacker, but he failed to record a goal or to help in five apparitions of Serie A.

This comes after Felix revealed why he chose the Rossoneri rather than other clubs interested after another disappointing spell with Chelsea. The International of Portugal said with confidence that his desire was to play in his favorite position on the field, after having often been deployed as an attacker, or on the left in the past.

“I did not ask AC Milan to play each game, just to play in my position … and Sergio Conceicao wanted exactly to put me in my best position. It was crucial for me to choose AC Milan, “said Felix.

Earlier, the Portuguese received a note of 4.5 games from the Italian exit Corriere della will be, who also added: “The worst in the field. You can’t see it, you don’t hear it. Never a game, even its own players avoid it.

Team leaders in recent years – Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao – are not better. After the two players played a crucial role in the departure of Paulo Fonseca of the Italian giants, the fans and the experts expected a career renewal, a decisive factor in the safeguard of the season. After putting the stars on the left side many times, Fonseca’s time was exhausted in December.

Although at the start, it seemed that the new head coach would bring the best of the team for the team, Hernandez and Leao remain the main targets of criticism. While French often leaves a massive gap in the defense of Milan, the second is entirely inactive when it comes to pressing the back line of the opposition.

Leao’s bad form comes after having interested several leading European clubs throughout last summer, such as Barcelona, ​​who desperately needed to bring a left winger to the camp. Now, with the incredible performance of Raphinha and the drop of Leao, such a decision seems unlikely.

In addition, the former defender of Real Madrid Hernandez was mocked by his own fans during the confrontation against Lazio, while the Frenchman went to kick in the last minutes of the match. A huge concern, since his contract expired in the summer of 2026.

Walker – who recently said that his move to AC Milan had left it “focusing solely on football” – is not like a savior to the defensive problems of Italian giants.

He joined the club in January of Man City after a difficult on the field at a time when there is a meticulous exam around his life. Mailonline reported following her move that His wife Annie Kilner would remain in England with their four children, with their “Rocky” relationship.

A source told Mailonline: “Their marriage is always very difficult and even if it is better than before, there are still a lot to solve. Kyle’s move was also suddenly enough, so it’s not so easy for Annie to just move with children in another country.

“There are schools to consider and find a house big enough for them all. But it’s still far away. For the moment, Kyle will be in Italy and Annie at their home in the United Kingdom and they will see how things are going.

The source added: “Kyle loves life again and her football. He is like a new man in Milan and has never been so happy. Maybe he is just relieved to put all his domestic problems behind him being outside England. The fact that he wants to live in an apartment probably tells you that he just wants time alone.

However, despite loving his football once again, he did not have the transformer impact that he could have hoped for in Milan. In his seven appearances in the black and red shirt, his team conceded six goals and only managed three victories.

The whole English diaspora – including Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus -Cheek and Tomori – is far from brilliant. Last year, Tomori and Abraham ignored the penalty orders of former manager Fonseca against Fiorentina, a case that created a massive row in Italy, when the press warned that the English could be abandoned in the following games.

In addition, the central back has not started a match for Milan since February 8, after a failed move to Tottenham during the winter transfer window. Although Tomori has publicly expressed his desire to stay in Italy, Conceicao always prefers a physical option in the form of Strahinja Pavlovic.

Loftus-cheek, meanwhile, had seemed to rekindle his career in Italy, with external cries of a call to the England team of Gareth Southgate last summer, but this term that he has not yet marked or assisted in Serie A, and has not presented in the High Vol for December due to an injury.

Only two weeks after the elimination of the AC Milan of the Champions League by Feyenoord, it remains clear that they failed in another transfer window under Ibrahimovic.

Santiago Gimenez has not yet adapted to a new league. Warren Bondo stayed on the bench in the last four Milan games, while Riccardo Sottil has not been considered a strong starter since his arrival.

At the same time, they allowed Alvaro Morata and Ismael Bennacer to leave loan spells outside Italy.

While the departure of the Spaniard was highly planned, Bennacer’s move was a surprise and a blow for the Milan midfielder. In its absence, the team has no players who can effectively control the ball, slow down the pace and stabilize the game if necessary.

Each week of match, it becomes obvious that AC Milan, and especially Conceicao, have a real project in their hands; Whoever needs a complete overhaul to build a better cohesive unit, rather than simply adding new individual parts.