With Lazio in the Coppa Italia, the Rossoneri coach will give the Swiss player some playing time, having only featured in two games at the start of the season before fracturing his fibula. The midfielder will offer another option in an already strong midfield.

He is inspired by Baggio and Pirlo, and has always worn the number 30 because Messi also started with that number. As far as role models are concerned, let’s just say that Ardon Jashari is not one to keep a low profile. He has personality, as everyone who knows him well will tell you. And on the other hand, without that personality that led him to take a very drastic stance against Bruges in the summer, who knows if it would have really ended with white smoke coming out of the Milanello chimney. Great promise, certainly, but it was not followed by action. It wasn’t his fault, however, but just bad luck that put him on a collision course with Gimenez in training. The result: a compound fracture of his right fibula, two months on the sidelines, and nine games spent in the infirmary. The light at the end of the tunnel appeared in early November, when the midfielder reappeared on the list of players called up for Roma.

For the moment, however, he is still not playing. Jashari has only played a handful of minutes in the league (16 minutes with Cremonese) and the Coppa Italia (24 minutes with Bari). In total, he has not even played a half, everything having been crystallized by the nasty injury that took away his ambitions and made him a useful player for Allegri. Now his time finally seems to have come. On Thursday at the Olimpico against Lazio, in a match that promises to be rather electric after the refereeing controversies in the league, Ardon will set foot on the pitch again. In the last two training sessions, Allegri will decide whether to field him from the first minute or not, but in short, the Swiss player is a candidate to return to what he was bought for: a point of reference – after all, he cost €34 million plus bonuses – and not just a simple extra.

An extra weapon—  His most significant strength is his dual phase. Jashari has enough skill to be valuable in developing play (as well as having a flair for getting involved) and enough competitive spirit to protect the defense. If he needs to go and win the ball back, he doesn’t need to be asked twice. He also has another useful quality: he can play as an inside forward or a central midfielder, but also in front of the defense, as Allegri pointed out in recent days. Translation: the Rossoneri coach gains another weapon in a midfield that is already very strong and complete. For Ardon, the competition is fierce, especially after losing ground due to his absence. There are the untouchables like Modric and Rabiot, there is the sometimes messy but still valuable all-rounder Fofana, and there are high-level alternatives like Ricci and Loftus. It is in this context that the Swiss player will have to fight for his place, starting in Rome, in order to remain in the rotation on a permanent basis. An intriguing possibility—not always, of course—could be a midfield with him, Modric, and Rabiot: creativity, good feet, runs, and adequate coverage. Sounds good.