The right flank has become one of the unsettated threads in Gennaro Gattuso’s early season, with form, recovery and the international break changing the balance between Gustav Isaksen and Matteo Cancellieri. As the Monza match approaches, Isaksen appears to have moved ahead after rebuilding his physical condition with Denmark, while Cancellieri’s chance to consolidate his place has been interrupted by a knee injury.
The coach and the club
Cancellieri had begun the campaign as the regular starter on the right, having been named in the initial line-up in each of the first five league rounds apart from the trip to Udinese. Isaksen, meanwhile, was catching up after surgery for pubalgia at the beginning of July had forced him into an individual pre-season programme rather than full work with the squad.
The break has altered that picture. Isaksen spent two weeks away on Denmark duty but used the Nations League fixtures to sharpen his condition. He accumulated 218 minutes across four appearances, scoring once. On Sunday evening, he played 82 minutes against Wales and won the penalty that settled the match.
Cancellieri’s period away from the club brought the opposite outcome. He suffered a knee wound in an accidental incident during the rest days after the Venezia match, requiring stitches. He has not taken part in group training during the international interval and was again absent from the main session when preparations resumed. His work has remained individual, preventing him from pushing fully or featuring in the friendlies against Arezzo and Juve Stabia.
Gattuso has widened training numbers by bringing in Primavera players while he waits for the remaining internationals to return. Only then will the more meaningful tactical work begin. The choice on the right, as it was through the opening weeks, will largely rest on which of the two wide players is physically readier.
Albert Gudmundsson had represented another possible solution on that side, but a shoulder dislocation sustained against Estonia has removed him from the immediate equation.
Isaksen’s route back
Isaksen began the season from behind because of his summer recovery, yet the Denmark matches have given him a route towards regaining the shirt. Gattuso had already stressed the importance of managing the winger carefully before the Venezia game.
“He is a strong player with three gears,” the coach said. “But he needs to be physically well, and we must help create those conditions. He has to understand that recovery matters too; it is not always about working.”
That message has gained further weight after Cancellieri’s setback. There is no particular alarm within the squad over the position, given Isaksen’s improved state, but the final decision will come close to the Monza fixture.
Noslin remains an alternative
Tijjani Noslin could offer an unexpected answer on the right, although he is currently more likely to remain the central reference point in the front three. He led the attack against Milan and Venezia, scoring twice across those matches, and those goals should keep him ahead of Andrea Pinamonti, whose recent displays have been less convincing.
For now, the right-sided contest points towards Isaksen. The season’s first weeks have already shown how quickly the order can change, and Gattuso’s selection will again depend less on reputation than on who arrives fit enough to play.
