SO SAELE CAN WAIT...

It's been a summer of spectacular comebacks in 2025, with superstar band Oasis rocking sell out gigs across the globe. It's an event that many of us thought would never happen, but perhaps equally so for Milanista's was the promising return of a player who was seemingly ready to exit the San Siro via stage left.

Alexis Saelemaekers’ career has felt like a small odyssey around Italy: a promising academy graduate at Anderlecht, an AC Milan player since 2020, a season-long loan to Bologna in 2023-24 and finally a similar spell with AS Roma last season. Now — the Belgian is back at Milan — a player who is beginning to convert those loan experiences into clear, measurable value for the Rossoneri. Below I break down the numbers, the tactical evolution, and why both the data and the eye suggest Saelemaekers is carving out a more important role at Milan than many expected.

Quick context: the loan and the return

In August 2024 Milan and Roma agreed a one-year swap loan involving Tammy Abraham and Alexis Saelemaekers, sending the playmaker to Roma for the 2024–25 season. That spell — under Roma’s coaching environment — gave him consistent minutes in a right-sided, often wing-back-like role and drew interest from other clubs - Roma included, at season’s end.

Milan re-integrated him this summer rather than allowing a permanent move and since his return, Saelemaekers has already been singled out in cup games and the league as a strong contributor, earning club MVP mentions in early Coppa Italia matches.

Before the loan spell at Roma of course was a similar move to Bologna, in 2023-24. The difference with that particular deal being the inclusion of an option to buy. That clause looked like being triggered until Vincenzo Italiano took over as manager from the departing Thiago Motta. Italiano however wasn't keen on paying the - what now looks like a bargain - €10 million fee to make the move permanent and so Saelemaekers returned to Milan.

The raw numbers

• Appearances & direct goal contributions (early 2025/26 season): Saelemaekers has been an ever-present for Milan in the early part of the season, making six appearances in league and cup while contributing with two assists.
• Creative/possession metrics per match: Scouting and stat platforms show Saelemaekers averaging roughly 2.3 key passes per game, 50–51 passes per game with a pass completion around 85%, and an xA (expected assists) per 90 in the 0.3–0.4 range — figures that place him well among Serie A wide players for chance creation.

What the numbers mean — output and value

1. Chance-creation spike: A player producing 2.3 key passes per game and an xA of 0.34/90 is classified as offering consistent opportunities for teammates. For a right-sided player who is not the team’s focal striker, those numbers translate to sustained offensive value: consistent overlapping runs, cutbacks and crosses that lead to expected goals/assists even when they don’t show up immediately on the scoresheet. This marks Saelemaekers as less of a “fill-in” and more as a reliable creative outlet on the right.
2. Reliable ball progression & passing efficiency: Averaging 50 passes per match with 85% completion for a wide player indicates Milan are using him not just for vertical runs but as an outlet in possession phases — helpful when teams press Milan high and the full-back/winger needs to help recycle and move the ball forward. At times, Saelemaekers has been given a license to drift inside - particularly in the last Serie A game against Udinese. That ball retention reduces turnovers on the right flank and allows Milan’s more creative central players to find pockets.
3. Tactical versatility adds squad value: Saelemaekers has been used both as a right winger and as a right wing-back — the hybrid role many modern Serie A teams prize. There should be an emphasis on his ability to dribble, press and contribute in defensive metrics — skills that make him suitable to toggle between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3/3-5-2-type phases without a drop in effectiveness. That versatility is precisely what managers covet in a long season.

Tactical analysis: how Roma changed (and sharpened) him

At Roma, Saelemaekers saw stretches playing with more license to bomb down the right and operate deeper when needed — the loan gave him:

• Consistent minutes in a defined role, which improved off-the-ball timing for overlaps and defensive recovery runs.
• Experience defending in different systems (sometimes as an orthodox wing-back, sometimes as a more forward winger) which improved his positional intelligence in transitions.

Those lessons appear to have translated back to Milan. Early-season reports from Italian outlets and fan sites note that Milan’s coaching staff (and we as fans) have noticed a more assured Saelemaekers — more precise end-product, smarter decisions with the ball, and clearer defensive reading — traits often developed by players who enjoy sustained playing time on loan. He appears to have matured for the loan spell and is now undoubtedly one of Milan's star players.

Examples from matches (qualitative + data-backed)

• Cup performances and MVP nods: Milan’s official site and club communications named Saelemaekers as match MVP in early Coppa Italia fixtures (most recently against Lecce this week) after he registered impact performances (involvement in goals and high work-rate), signalling the coaching staff’s trust and his match-winning potential. These club references are a strong signal of immediate value on the pitch.
• Contribution without headline stats: Even when not scoring, his high key-pass numbers and stable pass completion mean he is underpinning attacking moves and contributing to the creation chain — the type of player who may not lead the goal charts but consistently increases the team’s xG when on the field. No Milan player has covered more ground this season than the Belgian international.

The intangible but important — dressing-room and market signals

Multiple outlets have reported that Milan are considering contract talks and are not in a rush to sell — a sign clubs sometimes use to indicate a player is part of project planning. Additionally, fan coverage and tactical write-ups have discussed how Allegri (and earlier coaches) view Saelemaekers as a Swiss-army-knife type: someone who can plug tactical holes across the right side. Those narratives matter: when coaching staff publicly reward or retain a player, it often reflects both form and a perceived strategic role. Having played in every game so far, Allegri clearly regards Saelemaekers as a vital cog in his Milan team.

Room for growth — where Saelemaekers still needs to improve

• End product: while xA and key-pass numbers are strong, conversion into goals and high numbers of assists would cement his status. The next step is turning those chances and progressive plays into tangible attacking returns over a sustained run (goals+assists). Nobody would argue that Saelemaekers deserves a goal for his efforts so far this season - but that is an area to which he can improve on.
• Defensive consistency at elite level: when deployed as a wing-back in highly demanding fixtures (top-six clashes), his recovery speed and one-v-one defensive duels will be stress-tested. That’s where more granular defensive metrics from analytical sources such as FBref/WhoScored across a larger sample will tell a fuller story.

Bottom line — why Milan (and neutral observers) should be excited

Saelemaekers’ loan to Roma wasn’t a punishment — it was a growth pathway. The statistical profile now shows a right-sided player who:

• Generates material chance-creation per 90 for a wide player (key passes, meaningful xA),
• Retains the ball efficiently under pressure (pass volume + completion), and
• Can be deployed across multiple roles on the right with acceptable defensive output.

Those three traits — creativity, reliability in possession, and tactical versatility — make him more valuable in a squad context than raw goals alone would. Milan’s early-season use of him and the club’s public praise suggest they see him as part of the answer to depth and balance on the right flank, not merely the leftover from a swap deal.

As the Oasis song goes, Saele has had to to wait, but he is now grasping his opportunity at Milan with both hands.