MN: From alternative to pillar – how Bartesaghi flipped the wing-back hierarchy

Davide Bartesaghi – along with the more experienced Matteo Gabbia – has become an example of the talent in AC Milan’s youth sector.

As MilanNews write, the academy product Bartesaghi is experiencing a brilliant moment in his young career. Milan signed a left wing-back in the summer, getting Pervis Estupinan from Brighton, yet he is having to make do with being a deputy given how well Davide has been playing.

Replacing Theo

Having been consistently deployed in recent weeks (partly due to Estupinan’s ankle injury) Bartesaghi has shown solidity, personality and a surprisingly good balance between carrying out his defensive and attacking duties.

His growth is convincing everyone at Milan, especially Massimiliano Allegri, who has never hidden his faith in the youngster. In a recent press conference, he said that Bartesaghi has the ‘physique du role’ to play for Milan, praising his maturity and tactical focus.

Alessandro Sabattini + Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

We are not talking about the finished product here, either. Bartesaghi is just 19 years of age and yet he runs, tackles, provides width, support, energy and increasingly refined readings of game moments as if he were well beyond his years.

The fact that all this comes from a product of the Milan youth academy makes his rise even more significant. The message is now clear: on the left, Milan no longer has just one option, and Allegri is starting to seriously consider him as more than just an alternative.

As a reminder, Bartesaghi committed his future to Milan with a long-term renewal, and expressed his desire to stay despite the fact that the likes of Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund came knocking in the summer.