Following the Torino game, Fabio Capello, writing for La Gazzetta dello Sport, was among those to praise Chukwueze’s transformation. Chukwueze struck the former Milan coach as a “completely different player.” In 2024, one year on from Chukwueze’s signing, Capello had criticised the Nigerian and suggested he was struggling with the pressure of playing for such a big club.
Samuel Chukwueze earned the man of the match award in Milan’s opening match of the Serie A 2026-27 season against Torino. As promising as his first performance as a wing-back was, the Nigerian will have to compete with Diego Moreira for a starting spot this season.
Milan coach Ruben Amorim, who signed with the club this summer after a fraught spell at Manchester United, has suggested that Chukwueze may be used on both the right and left flanks. Amorim said Saelemaekers was a different kind of player – one who “wants to get inside” – whereas Chukwueze and Moreira are more comfortable playing wide.
Amorim said that it was important for a big club like Milan to have two quality players for each position. The coach hinted that Chukwueze was his first choice on the right, saying that if the Nigerian wasn’t available then Moreira’s similar characteristics would mean the side “doesn’t suffer too much”.
