The winter transfer window saw Milan boss Vincenzo Montella make three additions to the squad. The first one, the capture of veteran stopper Marco Storari from Cagliari didn’t make many headlines, but the loan signing of Gerard Deulofeu from Everton did raise a few eyebrows across Europe and not just in Italy. The third and the most intriguing signing, was that of Lucas Ocampos, who joined on loan from Ligue 1 side Marseille. The Argentine was initially on a loan spell at fellow Serie A side Genoa, but an agreement between Il Grifone and Rudi Garcia’s men now sees the former Monaco man ply his trade with the Rossoneri.

 

Doubts, though, have been raised about Ocampos’ abilities and whether he is good enough to play for a club in the top half of Serie A. His stint at Genoa yielded three goals and no assists in 14 appearances. Ivan Juric, whose side currently lies at the 15th spot in the league, has predominantly used a 3-4-3 formation and has made proper use of Ocampos’ versatility up front, playing him on the left, up front and as a number ten too. His best performances though, have come when he has been played out wide on the left. 

 

At Marseille, he managed to rack up a tally of three goals and a single assist in 23 outings in all competitions during the 2015-16 campaign. His numbers at Monaco are the best he has had in his senior career up until now. During the 2013-14 season, a then 19-year-old scored five times in 34 appearances and it was his performances that attracted interest from clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona. Before that though, his stellar showings at River Plate had helped him yield seven goals in 38 appearances in the 2011-12 campaign. He was often during that time, dubbed as being ‘The Next Cristiano Ronaldo’. Things though have gone downhill since he moved to the South of France as he failed to recapture his old form.

 

At Genoa, Ocampos’ presence helped the side stretch defences offering more directness from wide areas. While the Argentine was always a threat on the left, he has the tendency to drop to the flank even when playing up top. The fault it seems, lies in his final product and that has been a problem for quite some years now and a major reason why his assist and goal tally isn’t up to the mark. The man that Ocampos is replacing, M’baye Niang, had the same problems at San Siro. He may be a pacy, vertical outlet from wide areas, but he lacked decisiveness around the box.

 

Ocampos’ passing percentage stands at just 71.7 percent, which is disappointing. Niang’s passing percentage isn’t appealing by any means too and stood at 72.7 percent. The Argentine star plays 0.5 key passes per game, much like Niang, whose same statistic stood at 0.8 per game.

 

The similarities that lie between the two players may have tempted Milan into signing Ocampos, but the same weaknesses could end up giving the Argentine a torrid time at the San Siro. Gerard Deulofeu is a more complete player than either of them and his presence will help Montella have more options to players who aren’t on the same level as the former Everton man.

 

With Giacomo Bonaventura out for three months, both Ocampos and Deulofeu will fancy their chances at getting regular football and succeeding in getting their careers back on track. However, it will be no surprise if Deulofeu outperforms Ocampos during the next few months.


Kaustubh Pandey