GdS: Four fighting for one spot – Allegri must decide Pulisic’s partner for Juventus trip

AC Milan are back in full training at Milanello on Wednesday, and Massimiliano Allegri will have to decide who will play up front.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, the decision is more specifically who will partner Christian Pulisic. The American has had an incredible start to the season so far in terms of performance and should be considered a permanent starter.

Santiago Gimenez, Christopher Nkunku and Rafael Leao will do everything they can in the coming days to convince Allegri that they deserve the spot next to him, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek cannot be counted out either.

The hunt for goals

Among the forwards, the only one to have scored in the league is Pulisic, who has netted four times. Gimenez, Nkunku and Leao have only beaten the opposing goalkeeper in the Coppa Italia. They’d be keen to break the deadlock in the big match against the Bianconeri.

The aim is to score and get a positive result to go into the break with high morale, but above all to turn their seasons around individually, which started differently than they had hoped. This is especially true for Leao, who was coming off a superb preseason in his new role as centre-forward.

At the moment, Gimenez is ahead in the race. Allegri appreciated his performance against Napoli because, even though he didn’t score, he fought hard to protect the ball, push the team forward, and facilitate his team-mates’ runs.

Physically he is in the best shape, despite the chances he’s missed in this early part of the season. Santi begins the week of training (today a double session) ahead of the competition, but what Max sees in the coming days could change his mind.

Gimenez hopes this doesn’t happen because he wants to start again, as has always been the case since Leao’s right calf injury on August 17 against Bari. In the six subsequent games, the Mexican has started every minute. And he’d like to do so again in his first match against Juventus.

The challengers

Nkunku is improving, and Max considers him ‘a player of great quality, very good at managing moments’. Since his arrival, his physical condition has improved, and he can start from the start, as he did in the Coppa Italia against Lecce.

He and Pulisic up front might risk a certain lack of height, but it depends on what type of match Max wants to play. Leao is the least fit of the three, having been sidelined for 45 days and only trained with the team since Thursday.

It’s more likely he’ll come on at the Allianz Stadium in the second half. Last night, however, Rafa was in excellent spirits on Twitch: he praised his friend Theo Hernandez, wore Balotelli and Ronaldinho’s Milan shirts, and ‘asked’ for Lamine Yamal’s.

Finally, for Sunday, there’s the surprise option: Loftus-Cheek teaming up with Pulisic to surprise Tudor. The Englishman has already played both as an attacking midfielder (in Lecce) and as a second striker (against Udinese, in the second half).