Samu Chukwueze has moved on from Villarreal after six years with the club. In that time he has established himself as an excellent attacking player and a regular with the Nigerian national team.
As his game has become more and more polished, it is hard to believe he is still only 23 years old. Last season, in La Liga, Chukwueze produced six goals and five assists.
Beyond the goals and assists, Samu created 110 shots last season, second most at the club, mostly through live passes and take ons. He led the club in carries into the final third and progressive carries.
What Milan is getting here isn’t necessarily a guy who will light things up in terms of goals and assists but rather someone who is radically disruptive to the oppositions defensive shape and their ability to prevent shot attempts.
There is not a clear way forward for how Villarreal replaces someone like Chukwueze. It has been a long summer where the arrivals have not matched the departures in terms of quality, and there seems to be a clear turning of the page on the era that saw the club win the UEFA Europa League and make the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in back to back seasons.
In some ways this was inevitable. That success was largely built on experienced players in their 30s being brought in for small fees, and at some point in the relatively near future they were going to start aging out.
Losing a young up and coming star like Samu, however, just as he is really coming into his own, puts plenty of money in the club coffers but does little to explain what the next plan is.
Villarreal will receive 20million euros upfront as part of this deal, while AC Milan have also agreed to a further 8million as part of an add-ons package.
The flying winger arrived in Italy on Wednesday after AC Milan agreed a deal with his Spanish club Villarreal.
Chukwueze started his professional career with Viallreal reserved team in 2017, scoring 4 goals in 20 matches.
He made his debut with the first team in September 2018 and went on to make 207 appearances and scored 37 goals.
”AC Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Samuel Chimerenka Chukwueze from Villarreal CF. The Nigerian forward has signed for the Rossoneri until 30 June 2028″, the club confirmed.
