GdS: Frendrup, Belahyane and more – Milan’s search for a midfielder underway | OneFootball

Paulo Fonseca has relied heavily on the midfield pairing of Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders so far this season, and the idea is to give them some help.

Today’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport provides an assessment on the current state of Milan’s midfield depth, starting with Ismael Bennacer who has been injured since the first international break.

The hope is that he’ll return before the end of the year, but the Algerian will need more time to get back into shape. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah meanwhile have struggled a lot when deployed in a two-man midfield. They play better in other roles.

Finally, Kevin Zeroli and Silvano Vos (used only with Milan Futuro so far) are evidently considered too raw to find space in the first team. The result is that Milan have a hole in the middle; maybe not numerically, but certainly in terms of quality.

The directors are looking into potential reinforcements, and Morten Frendrup of Genoa has long been the first profile identified, but certainly not the only one. Very positive reviews have also arrived on Reda Belahyane of Hellas Verona, Moroccan but with an EU passport, having been born in France.

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There are no negotiations underway for either player at the moment and the feeling is that a lot of the urgency when January comes around will depend on how Bennacer is doing. However, Genoa and Verona’s owners have some financial issues, which could aid the Rossoneri’s pursuit.

Frendrup at Genoa has adapted to the dirty work of ball recovery, but he was essentially born as a mezzala. While Belahyane has perhaps less physical qualities than the Dane (running and strength), he is better with the ball and when it comes to tactical readings.

With Verona, he is used to playing in a two-man midfield, although with more build-up than defensive duties. If the choice falls on one or the other, the management must ask themselves which profile they need more, i.e. a deputy to Fofana or to Bennacer.

Another factor in Belahyane’s favour is his age. Born in 2004, the Franco-Moroccan could be added to the list of players for the league (but not the Champions League) without having to free up a spot.

There are other targets, too, and same reasoning also applies to Lucas Gourna-Douath, a 21-year-old Red Bull Salzburg midfielder, at the top of the list of profiles identified abroad.

He could also cost less than Frendrup and Belahyane and the relationship with the Austrian club is excellent after the Noah Okafor and Strahinja Pavlovic deals.

In the background there are other names such as Joris Chotard of Montpellier (a French international), as well as potential opportunities like Boubakary Soumaré of Leicester, who isn’t playing much and could depart on loan.