GdS: A ‘duel between giants’ – Rabiot to face ‘pupil’ Casadei in Torino clash

AC Milan will take on Torino away on Monday night, and there will be a battle between two giants in the respective midfield departments.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, a ‘duel between giants’ will get underway at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino that promises to be explosive. On one side is the 6ft4 Cesare Casadei, and on the other is the 6ft3 Adrien Rabiot.

Casadei has a bit of Rabiot about him in style, though perhaps it would be better to say he’s studying the Frenchman given the gap in age (eight years), experience and trophies. Playing against him will help the learning process, but it won’t be a walk in the park for Rabiot.

A potential pupil

Rabiot’s importance to Allegri was evident at Juventus, and perhaps that’s why he’s settled into the project as if he’s been playing in Milan for years. This is also thanks to his connection with Luka Modric, another champion who arrived this summer.

When Adrien and the Croatian are in midfield from the start, the Rossoneri have not lost it seems like anything but a fluke. The only flaw: compared to his time in black and white (and even his recent spell in Marseille), Rabiot isn’t delivering the usual haul of goals.

“Don’t worry, he’s improving his fitness, those will come too,” Allegri reassured yesterday in his pre-match press conference. Maybe, but his zero shots on target in six league appearances are somewhat of an anomaly for him.

Of course, Adrien does a lot more, starting with bringing balance and physicality to the entire team. He accelerates when he needs to, slows down when necessary, and doesn’t waste the ball. It’s also a question of maturity, which Casadei obviously lacks yet.

Meanwhile, Casadei has started 12 of 13 league games so far. Only Maripan, Coco and Vlasic are his closest rivals at Torino. Marco Baroni has great faith in this young man, who hasn’t even turned 23 yet but has already lived many lives.

He went from a promising youngster who won the Primavera title with Inter in 2022 to a talent who spent three years abroad, having gone to Chelsea for €15m plus €5m in bonuses. He was top scorer at the 2023 U20 World Cup, and then returned to his home country.

Marco Baroni said just over one month ago: “I have great vision for Casadei. He’s a space player. He’s physically fit, and he’s building his position. He must be present at every moment of the game, and he has the qualities to do so. I have faith in this.”