Fonseca: ‘I don’t want to see last year’s Chukwueze, I want the one from Villarreal’

AC Milan’s Nigerian winger, Samuel Chukwueze has revealed to Italy’s number one sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport what Paulo Fonseca, the new Portuguese coach at AC Milan told him at the start of the team’s pre-season training.

Fonseca replaced Italian, Stefano Pioli, the man who brought the Nigerian to Italy, at the end of the season.

Chukwueze has been impressive in AC Milan’s pre-season training, scoring goals and providing assists.

Asked by the newspaper how he has been getting along since Fonseca took over as coach of the club, the Nigerian says the Portuguese has given him confidence.

The coach gives me confidence. Now I have to prove that I’m from Milan. I think it’s my time. Fonseca told me only one thing: ‘Samuel, I don’t want to see last year’s Chukwueze.

‘I want the one from Villarreal’. And I said: ‘Ok, no problem’. It’s as if I was reborn. I’m a new player. Personal goal? I want to beat my record of six goals in the league,’ Chukwueze told the newspaper in an interview.

Chukwueze also revealed why he could not perform as he would have wanted under Pioli.

‘What didn’t work with him? I arrived late, at the end of July, it was a bit difficult to convince him, those who played in my position scored.

‘We are all human, even I wanted to play, but coaches are cautious, it’s normal. I had a good relationship with Pioli, he is a fantastic man and a good coach but this is football,’ he said.

Asked if he would love Victor Osimhen to come to AC Milan, Chukwueze replied thus: ‘I would like to close my eyes, open them again and see him here at Milan. I always tell him: ‘Are you sure you don’t want to come?’. And he said: ‘Samuel, you know it’s difficult’…”.