A Progress Report on the Early-Season Form of AC Milan's Jeremy Menez

Jeremy Menez was brought over from French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the summer on a free transfer, as Milan looked to add more mercurial talent to the squad, probably knowing that the impending sale of Mario Balotelli was looming on the horizon.So far, Menez has been everything that Milan could have hoped for and more. Other than his three goals so far this season, one of them being a spectacular back-heel effort against Parma which set the viral world on fire, he's shown great work-rate.The reputation around Menez in France wasn't the most charming. For every one of his world-class days on the pitch, he had a few more matches of anonymity.Menez's disinterested, lackadaisical look on the pitch certainly didn't help his case, and his inconsistency led to Paris St. Germain stashing him on the end of their bench.His first season with the Parisienne outfit produced a few moments of individual brilliance, but when the other stars arrived, he didn't feel appreciated, and that's when the decline happened.At Milan, new coach Filippo Inzaghi has seen Menez as a luxury and has used him in a variety of rolls. We've seen Menez on the left wing, where he can cut in with his right foot and cause all sorts of havoc.We've also seen Menez play as a false No. 9, a role that Inzaghi seems to like for him. The French attacker has the qualities to play this type of position, as he often drifts back into the midfield to retrieve the ball and go on mazy runs forward.The only criticism with his involvement so far this season with Milan has been his tendency to hold onto the ball too long.Often, Menez tries to take on a third defender, despite already having beaten a couple off the dribble and loses possession rather than trying to hold his head up and searching for the run of a teammate.His finishing has been decent, and he's always a threat on the counter-attack with his dangerous pace.Currently, Inzaghi has quite a dilemma on his hands as Fernando Torres has undergone an all too familiar dry spell and could see his starting role in the attack in jeopardy as Menez has made a strong case to lead the line alongside the likes of Stephan El Shaarawy and Keisuke Honda.If Menez can even reach a double-digit goal tally domestically this season, consider it as the cherry on top of an already delicious cake.He'll be a major part of what the Rossoneri do offensively throughout the course of the new campaign, and he has been one of the biggest steals in Europe considering his worth and what Milan had to pay to acquire him.
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