GdS: Attitude issues to earning Milan’s trust – key season awaits for Alex Jimenez | OneFootball

AC Milan used their option to buy Alex Jimenez on a permanent basis and he will be staying for at least another 12 months, but hopefully beyond that in the eyes of the club.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Jimenez arrived from Real Madrid last summer in a complex operation, a loan with an option to buy (exercised, for around €5m) and with the possibility of Madrid exercising a buy-back in 2025 or 2026.

Now Alex is tied to the Rossoneri until 2028, with the possibility of a further extension until 2029, yet Los Blancos have retained an incremental buy-back clause and that means they will stay watching his development.

In Spain, Jimenez had split his time between Alvaro Arbeloa’s Juvenil A side and Real Castilla, the B team coached by Raùl, but the two coaches often preferred competitors to him in Madrid due to attitude issues.

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With Ignazio Abate and the Primavera he showed growth last season and improved also from a tactical point of view. This was noticed by Stefano Pioli, who in January decided to use him in the first team and he ended up with five senior appearances.

The resemblance to Theo Hernandez was immediately obvious to the fans and not just because of the position they share but also his explosive pace, dribbling ability and propensity to get forward. Theo helped the Spaniard in settling into the first team, too.

The seal of approval came from the Frenchman after the match against Empoli: “Jimenez? He’s strong, he’s a little Theo.” And the future? Next season, the Spaniard will play for a spot with the new coach Paulo Fonseca, but most likely will be one of the stars of Milan Futuro.