Alexis Saelemaekers is set for a new role under Ruben Amorim this season, moving off the right flank and into an attacking midfield position behind the striker, according to Pietro Mazzara.
A year ago the Belgian was among the first names on Massimiliano Allegri's team sheet, used almost exclusively at right wing-back. This summer the certainty has gone. Saelemaekers has been used less than expected in pre-season, and the arrival of Diego Moreira has crowded the wing-back slots, prompting the rethink about where he fits.
In an editorial for MilanNews, Mazzara wrote that Amorim does not see Saelemaekers primarily as a right-back, the position most identified as his natural one at the start of the year. Instead, the coach wants him further forward, in one of the two slots behind Gonçalo Ramos.
The logic, Mazzara explained, comes from weeks of observation by Amorim and his staff, and from what Saelemaekers has always shown on the pitch. "Saelemaekers is a player who greatly enjoys cutting inside, playing with his teammates, and attacking the penalty area rather than dropping to the byline and firing in crosses," Mazzara wrote.
That instinct showed under Allegri too, when the Belgian tended to attack the far post from the opposite flank and drift inside in search of space, even when his coach wanted more width. Amorim's answer is to put him where he already gravitates.
The numbers back the attacking read. Across his spells at Bologna and Roma, Saelemaekers returned 29 assists and 27 goals in all competitions, output that points to a player more useful near the box than pinned to the touchline.
There is a defensive angle as well. Mazzara suggested that with Samuel Chukwueze converting to a full-back role, Saelemaekers operating as a three-quarter man could help shield Chukwueze's potential defensive gaps, with cover from Mario Gila behind. His ability to drop back into full-back on either flank keeps that option alive if Amorim needs it.
For a player who looked untouchable 12 months ago, the shift is a gamble on his best qualities rather than a demotion, and from here it falls to Amorim to prove the hunch right on the pitch.