CorSport: Jashari shines with Switzerland – why he has struggled at Milan and what will help

Ardon Jashari has not yet forged the role he wanted at AC Milan, but time is still on his side and opportunities are coming.

As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) write this morning, three factors hindered and slowed the growth of Jashari in his first season at: the injury just after arriving, the competition from experienced team-mates, and the weight of expectation after his €35m move.

The mystery of Jashari

As mentioned, a combination of factors worked against Jashari in year one. The aspect that immediately comes to mind is having to wait his turn behind a champion of the game like Luka Modric. This extends to the national team, too, because with Switzerland there is the captain Granit Xhaka ahead.

Added to this is the disappointment of having missed the entire first part of the season due to a very unfortunate injury. He returned at the end of November after summer preparations had already been disrupted due to negotiations.

Finally, there is also the question of high expectations. Milan spent time, energy, and above all significant financial resources to bring him to Milanello, and therefore a much more substantial impact was automatically expected from the start.

Even this season has not been the easiest so far, given that Modric and Adrien Rabiot remain key pillars in a midfield that now has one less spot, while even Yunus Musah has managed to convince the coach.

Now, the midfielder wants a change of pace and it’s precisely this international break that could help him change that. In both of the four matches scheduled for Switzerland, Jashari started as Xhaka was not called up due to disciplinary issues.

He performed well against both North Macedonia and Scotland, playing the full 90 minutes in the former match and the 70 minutes in the latter. This is what Jashari needs: consistency to find his rhythm and develop his qualities.

Once the break is done, his chances of playing will increase. In a month, Milan will play nine games, with one practically every three days. Ruben Amorim will need everyone’s contribution, and Jashari will finally be able to see the pitch more frequently to put what he learned from Modric into practice.