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HeatMap: Calhanoglu needs to be played as a trequartista

HeatMap: Calhanoglu needs to be played as a trequartista

Hakan Calhanoglu is a trequartista, not a winger, Emanuele Tramacere writes, and Milan had better realise this sooner rather than later.

One of the Rossoneri’s signings this summer, the Turkish international has been deployed on the left wing and as a box-to-box midfielder.

Spending 22 million for him, the Milanese side has found a player who has given Coach Vincenzo Montella a number of tactical headscratchers. The Turkish player arrived late in the window, and is not in the right physical shape yet.

Though that didn’t help him out as a winger, it isn’t enough to justify his use there, where he struggled to play a major role.

In fact, a look at his heatmap from the 3-0 Crotone win tells us everything we need to know: Calha is a trequartista, a playmaker, someone who looks for the killer pass or who spreads the ball around to keep the attack going.