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Koni De Winter is heading for his fifth start in the last six games, and although there were concerns initially, the former Genoa man has grown into his role.
Ahead of the January window, more specifically after the games against Sassuolo and Napoli (Supercoppa), there was a lot of discussion about the centre-back position at Milan. De Winter, who arrived for around €20m in the summer, hadn’t exactly impressed at that point.
Above all, he struggled in the physical battles, often losing out even when strikers had their backs towards the goal. However, over two weeks have passed and Milan still have’t signedf a centre-back, which the Belgian might have something to do with.
Evident growth
Indeed, if there were initially concerns about De Winter, these have almost vanished after some very good performances by the 23-year-old. Against Cagliari and Como, he got a 6.5/10 in our player ratings and was also solid against Fiorentina with a 6/10.
It might sound a bit silly to talk about growth when there haven’t been any hugely standout performances, but the reality is that Milan only needed him to get to an acceptable standard (and perhaps a little more). After all, solidity is what his position requires in Massimiliano Allegri’s system.
Against Lecce tomorrow, it looks like he will get the chance again, which would be his fifth start in six games. Strahinja Pavlovic still has a head wound and would need to play with a mask of sorts, so it makes sense to continue with De Winter.
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