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Massimiliano Allegri is gradually getting more and more contributions from the summer signings, but there is one outlier.
Milan’s squad is not a deep one after the cull that took place ahead of the season, and while some of the new additions – Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot, above all – hit the ground running, others took a bit of time to get going.
Over the past few weeks in particular, we have begun to see more across the board. In defence, Koni De Winter’s level has increased to the extent that many believe he can not and should not be dropped from the starting line-up.
Zachary Athekame looked raw in his initial appearances, but last Tuesday night against Bologna he was excellent in just his second league start. In midfield, Samuele Ricci and Ardon Jashari are making progress with each start, and are beginning to carve out obvious roles.
The story of 2026 so far is Christopher Nkunku though. Actually, it dates back to the end of 2025 when he scored a brace against Hellas Verona, and since then nobody has scored more than him, with seven goal contributions to his name.
And then were was one
Everyone is doing better then, except one player. Pervis Estupinan was signed from Brighton in the summer to replace the outgoing Theo Hernandez, with a fee of €19m agreed for the Ecuadorian. Ironically, Brighton ‘replaced’ him with long-time Milan target Maxim De Cuyper, from Club Brugge.
Estupinan seemed to start well and then suffer a bit of a decline, which culminated in an ankle issue sustained in October that forced him to miss a few games. Davide Bartesaghi was entrusted with the wing-back role in his absence, and has never let go of it after performances beyond his years.
Since the start of 2026, Estupinan has started only two of seven games, otherwise coming on only a couple of times in the closing minutes. He has lost his spot and his way a little bit, to the extent that when he does play he overcomplicates things and looks shaky, often to Massimiliano Allegri’s frustration.
In mould, Estupinan is very different to Bartesaghi, and is more on the Alexis Saelemaekers end of the wing-back scale. The former Brighton man thrives in dynamic situations, where he can exploit his pace and attack the space in behind. Defending, especially one-on-one, has never been a strength.
Yet, the 28-year-old isn’t showing enough from an end product point of view to nullify the defensive lapses and justify starts, like Theo Hernandez did at times. Estupinan has only one assist in 15 appearances in all competitions, with Bartesaghi – not known for attacking – even surpassing his goal contributions.
Estupinan’s difficulties are probably because of three things: the pressure of playing for such a big club, the difficulty of adapting to Serie A, and a style of play that isn’t being effectively utilised by Allegri (or generally isn’t a fit).
The errors he committed against Fiorentina show a lack of confidence, and there was talk that the Milan directors were even considering listening to offers that arrived in January.
Estupinan ended up remaining, but his future will surely become a talking point again before the summer, unless Max manages to work some of his magic again.
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