The schedule for this summer’s pre-season International Champions Cup involving the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich has been revealed, per the tournament’s Twitter feed:

Surprise Premier League leaders Leicester City will also be involved, along with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Celtic and Inter Milan, with matches set to be played across the USA, and in various European cities.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1XJXsC9
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Chelsea loanee Juan Cuadrado is likely to stay at Juventus even if Antonio Conte is appointed the Blues’ boss in the summer, according to the Italian club’s chief executive Giuseppe Marotta.

Cuadrado joined Juve on a season-long loan deal last August after failing to make an impact at Chelsea upon his £23.3 million arrival from Fiorentina just six months before.

He has been impressive for the Old Lady this term, and Marotta insisted that the likely appointment of former Juve manager Conte at Chelsea will have no bearing on Cuadrado’s decision, per Jefferson Lake of Sky Sports:

“The fact Antonio Conte is going to Chelsea just confirms that we made a good choice when we took him from Siena. I am proud of this and for him,” said Marotta. 

“But as for Cuadrado? I don’t think Conte will influence our decision. We could keep him here,” he added.

Per Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard, Juve “want to trigger an option to buy [Cuadrado] this summer” and “claim there is a gentleman’s agreement to sign him for €22 million (£17.2 million).” 

If that is indeed the case, it would be surprising for Juve not to take up the option, considering how effective Cuadrado has been for them this term.

He has netted three goals and provided five assists in 22 Serie A appearances while playing a key role as Juve recovered from a poor start to their league campaign to top the division by three points with eight games remaining, per WhoScored.com.

He also caught the eye in Juve‘s Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayern Munich last week—which they eventually lost—per BT Sport Football:

Chelsea could have done with a player of Cuadrado‘s quality in their largely awful 2015-16 campaign, as wingers Eden Hazard and Pedro have been remarkably poor.

Conte has reportedly told the Blues hierarchy that he wants Cuadrado back at Chelsea, per Johnson.

And Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones pointed out the Italian manager’s ability to attract quality players to Chelsea even without Champions League football as a key reason to appoint him:

However, it seems Juve are keen to keep Cuadrado, and given how underused he was during his spell at Stamford Bridge (he made just four Premier League starts in half a season per WhoScored), it is unlikely he will be desperate to return to west London.

Elsewhere, Conte reportedly also has his eye on Inter Milan‘s Ivan Perisic as he plans his potential rebuild of the Blues squad.

According to Italy’s Calciomercato (via Metro‘s Mark Brus), the Blues “could spend £23 million to bring him to Stamford Bridge.”

The 27-year-old Croatian has netted six times and provided four assists this season in Serie A and has enjoyed fantastic form recently, per WhoScored:

Perisic is hugely versatile and can play anywhere across midfield, a potential bonus for Conte as he looks to rebuild the Blues’ attacking unit. 

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1U1NRII
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Another game, another underwhelming performance, another two points dropped. It has become a familiar occurrence for AC Milan of late after they extended their winless run to three games with a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Lazio on Sunday night.

After going behind to a Marco Parolo header inside nine minutes, the Rossoneri responded well, equalising just six minutes later through a neat Carlos Bacca finish.

However, despite dominating the vast majority of the match and having a one-man advantage following Senad Lulic’s dismissal, they were unable to secure all three points.

And in a weekend where all three of the teams directly above Milan in the race for third place—Inter Milan, Fiorentina and AS Roma—dropped points, the draw was a particularly unsatisfactory outcome.

After the match, Milan head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic admitted his frustration at the display, telling Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia):

It’s another missed opportunity, we could’ve closed up two points from Fiorentina and Inter. It’s the usual situation.

We dominated the second half and created many chances, but if we don’t put it in the net, it becomes difficult to win.

Compared to the last two games at least there was more effort and determination. We tried everything to win in any way possible, but we were unable to get the victory.

However amid the doom and gloom, Milan striker Luiz Adriano managed to put in a positive individual performance.

The 28-year-old has struggled to find frequent game time since joining the club last summer from Shakhtar Donetsk for a £5.7 million fee, though his latest outing was promising.

He won three aerial duels and made three key passes, per WhoScored.com, while causing trouble for Lazio’s defensive line with his work rate, pace and aggression. Indeed, it was his intelligent hold-up play and lay-off that led to Bacca scoring his first goal since 14 February.

The Colombian finisher, who is Milan’s top scorer this season, had gone four games without scoring. More notably, he had gone four games without having a single shot on target. It was a remarkable barren run for someone renowned for his nose for goal and clinical touch.

Thanks to Adriano’s assist, however, that run is over. And, furthermore, Mihajlovic may have stumbled upon his new first-choice strike pairing.

On 7 March, it was confirmed that M’Baye Niang would miss the rest of this season as a result of injuries suffered in a car crash. The Frenchman’s unavailability left Milan with a headache in the form of a lack of attacking options.

Behind Bacca, Milan’s top scoring strikers are Adriano (three) and Mario Balotelli, who has hit just one goal since returning to the club at the start of the campaign. Yet, with Niang out, Mihajlovic has been forced to trial both strikers in an attempt to find a workable duet.

Against Lazio, Adriano made a convincing argument that he should be the man to team up with Bacca for the remaining eight Serie A fixtures this season, even if he was on his way out of the club a matter of months ago.

In January, the Brazilian came close to joining Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, though the move eventually broke down. He told Calciomercato.it (h/t ESPN FC): “They did not want to put the right figures on the contract and that is not the way I work, and that is why I have not joined Jiangsu Suning.”

Although Adriano remained with Milan, he found himself either left out by Mihajlovic or injured. Indeed, he didn’t appear for nine consecutive games as his future with the club seemingly became less certain.

His start against Lazio was only his 10th of the campaign, but the 28-year-old showed few signs of rustiness. He played with speed, strength and hunger throughout and was integral to the Rossoneri’s equaliser. His assist was his third of the season, with all of them leading to Bacca goals.

Before the game, Adriano had expressed his desire to aid the team. “I want to assist my teammates tonight,” he told Milan Channel (h/t Football Italia). “I hope I’ll score. We always have responsibilities going forward. We’ll try to give our best, by contributing to the team effort towards victory.”

He may not have the finesse of Balotelli or the composure of Bacca, but on Sunday night, Adriano proved he still has plenty to offer to Milan. While Niang is out, he could be the ideal stand-in, at least for the rest of this season.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1XGM1Lq
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Until recently, AC Milan had cultivated a reputation for selling off their finest young players. The sale of Bryan Cristante in 2014 angered the club’s fans, who saw the 21-year-old’s departure as the latest in a growing line of short-sighted decisions.

However, since the arrival of Sinisa Mihajlovic as Rossoneri head coach, that outlook has changed. Not only are youngsters staying with the club, they are being actively involved in first-team affairs.

This season, the Serbian’s first in charge, 17-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma has established himself as Milan’s first-choice goalkeeper. Right-back Davide Calabria, 19, has also been given game time in Serie A.

Manuel Locatelli could be the latest youth-team graduate to benefit from this Mihajlovic-led change.

The 18-year-old, born in Lecco, was officially promoted to Milan’s first-team squad in February, following Antonio Nocerino’s transfer to Orlando City.

His promotion was an example of Milan’s new, more inclusive attitude towards its own Primavera and the players that come through it.

Locatelli first joined the club at the age of 12 and, as he ascended through the youth ranks, there was a growing sense of excitement about his prospects.

Physically he was—and remains—a slender player, but for what he lacks in strength he more than makes up for in several technical aspects.

A central midfielder by trade, he prefers a deeper role from where he can utilise his excellent passing range. He exudes assuredness on the ball and has the vision to spot an open player on the flanks or further forward.

He also appears remarkably composed in possession of the ball and more than capable of intercepting opposition moves. These skills suggest an acute footballing mind, one with awareness for tactical details and the ability to cope with the mental rigours of a professional career.

Yet, while those traits are impressive, it is his ball-playing qualities that mark him out as a regista for the future. And, with such a proclivity for long-range passes, it comes as no surprise that he has been compared to former Milan icon Andrea Pirlo.

For the Guardian, Paolo Bandini relayed the thoughts of Mauro Bianchessi, the club’s head of scouting, on Locatelli. “He’s a bit Pirlo and a bit (Riccardo) Montolivo,” he said, before adding: “He can be the next captain of Milan.”

If comparisons to a club legend and a current first-team regular don’t capture the attention, Bianchessi’s latter declaration will.

The notion that Locatelli might one day lead the Rossoneri is an interesting—if bold—one, especially given the current lack of real authority and inspiration within the squad.

It’s difficult to assess at this early stage exactly how much truth such a statement carries with it, especially when the player in question has yet to feature for the first team in competitive action. However, the words are worth taking into account, particularly given they came from someone whose job is to seek out and recommend young talent.

Last summer, Milan played a series of friendlies against lower-league opposition prior to more prestigious matches with the likes of Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Locatelli started in one of those lesser-covered games: a 5-1 win over Alcione.

While others such as Calabria and Donnarumma would go on to feature frequently in future pre-season fixtures, this was Locatelli’s sole outing.

Nonetheless he was proud of his inclusion, telling Milan Channel, via the club’s official website: “I am very happy with my friendly played with the first team, had I scored it would have been even better.”

His glass half-full analysis, citing the lack of a goal to his name, is perhaps indicative of an innate desire to improve, something that—along with his aforementioned ball skills—seemed to catch Mihajlovic’s eye.

Indeed, by last November, the coach was singing the youngster’s praises after the player helped Milan to the San Nicola Trophy, a friendly tournament contested along with Inter and Bari.

“I appreciated the quality of Locatelli, I wanted to see him,” Mihajlovic admitted to Milan Channel (h/t Football Italia). “It was the first time and he was a little shy. He needs to play the ball vertically some more, but I liked him, he did well.”

Within three months of those comments, Locatelli was a first-team player. And, along with his moving up at club level, he has also progressed in the national team setup. Since September 2015 he has been a part of Italy’s under-19 team and has now represented his country seven times at that level, per Transfermarkt.co.uk.

His rise has been fast, but an important point to note is that a number of more experienced players block his way to a regular place in the starting lineup. Currently, Montolivo is the team’s No. 1 deep-lying playmaker, while Milan possess other midfield technicians in Andrea Bertolacci and Andrea Poli.

Consequently Locatelli may have to be patient, but given Mihajlovic’s track record so far, his chance could come sooner rather than later.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1pNqYw5
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J