Tuttosport: A chance to impress – why Padova friendly could be important for several players

By: Oliver Fisher

AC Milan will welcome Serie B side Padova to Milanello for a behind-closed-doors friendly which kicks off at 11:30 CEST.

As Tuttosport (via MilanNews) report this morning, this will conclude the team’s short training week, which began on Tuesday. After the friendly – which will naturally feature several players from Navarro’s Milan Futuro – Amorim will give the team a rest over the weekend.

Then, there will be a meeting on Monday to begin preparing for the game against Sassuolo on Sunday 11 October. The match against Padova will not be broadcast on television, but for many of the squad, it will be a chance to showcase their skills in front of Amorim.

An opportunity to impress

At Milanello, 12 first-team players remained who were not called up for various reasons. Two of them, however, are goalkeepers (Pietro Terracciano and Lorenzo Torriani). One, Alexis Saelemaekers, is working separately after suffering an ankle injury on Tuesday.

Everyone else will be available today against Padova, but if there’s one player worth watching more than the others – at least in the eyes of the paper – it’s Omari Hutchinson. He remains a mystery having had only a few minutes to shine. This could be a chance to climb the pecking order.

Aside from Hutchinson, today seems to be a real opportunity for many others competing for minutes, like the young Christian Comotto. Fikayo Tomori could play too, who was reinstated after his summer exit didn’t materialise, or Sankhoun Diawara who is an unseen new addition.

Then there are those who need to get some minutes in their legs and gain fitness. This is certainly the case with Matteo Gabbia, who has remained on the sidelines up to now, but also with Christian Pulisic who was not called up by Pochettino. Filippo Terracciano, Mario Gila and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will also be available.