Ardon Jashari, not Luka Modric, started in the double pivot when Amorim’s Milan opened their Serie A season at Torino, and the reason is written into the plan for the whole campaign.
Modric has appeared in Milan’s first two matches, but according to Gazzetta dello Sport the workload is being carefully controlled: he has played only 108 minutes so far, and Europa League nights are among the ones Amorim intends to hold him back from.
The rotation is not a demotion. The club extended Modric’s contract to 30 June 2027 on 23 July, calling him “a key figure in the Rossoneri midfield” who has “brought his experience and quality to the service of the team, both on and off the pitch, with humility and great passion.” He kept the number 14 shirt.
Jashari picked ahead of him
Amorim’s answer has a name, and it is Ardon Jashari. The Swiss midfielder was signed as Modric’s understudy last season and shadowed him through it, and was picked ahead of Modric in the double pivot for the trip to Torino alongside Yunus Musah, a call framed as purely tactical. Modric came off the bench in that game.
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Five days later, Modric was in the starting XI for the 2-0 home win over Venezia, his first club start since April. Christian Comotto is the further rotation option.
From deep-lying playmaker to a two-man midfield
Under Massimiliano Allegri last season, Modric was used as a deep-lying playmaker. Under Amorim, Gazzetta dello Sport has reported, he is being asked to play in a two-man midfield closer to the role he holds with Croatia, and to accept that he will not start every match. The Portuguese coach said in the summer that he wanted to count on Modric for the season without playing him every week.
The template being cited is Modric’s final campaign at Real Madrid: 17 LaLiga starts to 18 substitute appearances, plus seven starts and seven bench appearances in the Champions League. Modric made 37 appearances and scored twice across all competitions in his first season at Milan, according to the club.
Milan visit Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday for matchweek 3 of the Serie A season, and Modric turns 41 three days later.
