Diego Moreira’s first weeks at Milan have carried the rhythm of a player arriving before his place in the side is ready for him. Three Serie A goals in only 66 minutes, each scored after coming off the bench, have made the Belgian impossible to ignore, even if Ruben Amorim has so far used him more as a change of pace than as a permanent starter.
The coach and the club
Milan paid €50 million plus bonuses to bring Moreira from Strasbourg in the summer, and the investment has already found a prominent admirer at the top of the club. Gerry Cardinale, the RedBird founder, went down to the pitch before Sunday night’s match against Lecce to embrace the winger during the warm-up.
Moreira answered that gesture in the manner most useful to a new Milan player: with a goal. Introduced for Alexis Saelemaekers in the 69th minute, he scored his first at San Siro and celebrated beneath the Curva Sud.
It was his third league goal of the campaign, making him Milan’s leading scorer over the opening stretch of the season. Yet the numbers have not translated into a regular place from the first whistle. Of Milan’s first six matches, Moreira started only once, in the opening fixture against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium.
The player has made no secret of his ambition, while leaving the selection call with his coach. He said he would choose to start every game if it were his decision, but added that Amorim must pick the eleven he considers strongest. Moreira hopes the period after the international break may bring another starting opportunity, although he said he is content with the current situation for now.
A place to be defined
The question for Amorim is not simply whether Moreira should start, but where he best fits. His sole league start came on the right as a wing-back, filling in for Samuel Chukwueze, whom Amorim has also adapted to a demanding role on the flank.
That selection issue has limited the occasions on which Moreira and Chukwueze have occupied the two wide positions together. They have appeared as an attacking pair only twice, both after Milan had fallen behind.
Against Lazio, the decision changed the match. Moreira worked from the left and scored twice as Milan rescued a contest that had seemed to be slipping away. In the Europa League meeting with Benfica, he again had 33 encouraging minutes on the left but could not produce another comeback.
Lecce offered a further variation. Moreira was initially placed among the two attacking midfielders behind Gonçalo Ramos, although Milan frequently resembled a 4-4-2 during the match, with the former Benfica academy player pushing forward from the left wing.
The experiment allowed Amorim to use a left-sided wide defender behind him — Pervis Estupiñán first, then Davide Bartesaghi — without exposing the side too heavily. It was a more balanced route to bringing Moreira into the game than relying solely on him as a late attacking substitute.
For Moreira, the answer is uncomplicated. He said he is happy on either wing, higher up the pitch or deeper, and that he will give everything wherever he is deployed.
The next opening
Moreira will now join Belgium during the three-week international break, beginning with a Nations League fixture against Italy. Koni De Winter is also in the Belgian squad, while Saelemaekers was not called up for these opening Nations League matches.
When Milan return to club football, a crowded run of fixtures should offer Amorim further chances to test Moreira from the beginning. The supporters have seen enough from his brief appearances to want that chapter opened sooner rather than later.
