Too slow, not technical enough, and too lazy to work in Pioli’s system. It was poor from Maldini to chase him so hard for so long, because this was very obvious well before he signed.

He played well in Gattuso’s low block, where he didn’t have to move much, played in a midfield 3, and have players very close to him. Pioli plays the complete opposite way and everyone is required to play under pressure, with a high line, with their backs far away from the goal. It’s a lot of the same reasons Romagnoli went from elite to average under Pioli. You can’t plug X player into Y system and expect the same results every time.

The deal for him is 2-year loan with option for 15M that becomes permanent under certain conditions. That’s all we know. Presumably, someone at the club wants to back out of this, whether it be Pioli, Maldini, or Elliot themselves. Pobega developed well in Juric’s double pivot, high line, high press. So it only makes sense to force Bakayoko out in favor of him now.