Following some very long discussions and negotiations with Club Brugge that lasted over a month, AC Milan were successful in reaching a deal to sign a contract with Ardon Jashari on a permanent basis until 30 June 2030, for a fee that reaches €39m.
The deal represents a huge investment from I Rossoneri, who are continuing to build a competitive squad for the upcoming season with some valuable and promising signings to help Massimiliano Allegri reach his seasonal objectives.
Signing one of the best talents in Belgium (Belgian Young Player of the Year and Belgian Pro League Player of the Year in 2025) means that Milan are reinforcing their midfield with another quality signing after Luka Modrić and Samuele Ricci, who are already two outstanding signings despite Modrić’s age.
It is also important to highlight the fact that Jashari was reported to have rejected numerous offers from Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, Arsenal, Napoli, Real Sociedad, Ajax, OGC Nice, and Juventus just to accept Milan’s offer.
This says a lot about the player’s determination to play for AC Milan and succeed with them, as it confirms that the player has a strong personality despite being only 23 years old.
In this player analysis and scout report, we will explore the Swiss international’s defensive and playmaking abilities to identify his strengths and weaknesses and how he can help Milan become even more powerful next season.
The analysis will start with presenting Ardon Jashari style of play and studying his potential roles within Allegri’s Milan.
Ardon Jashari Profile, Position, & Roles At AC Milan
The first remarkable aspect of Jashari’s profile is that he is a left-footed midfielder, a feature that Milan lack in their midfield.
Getting left-footed Jashari will certainly add diversity to the Rossoneri’s midfield, as it also provides new alternatives in terms of attacking transitions, whether from the right or the left.
Another important factor to consider when assessing Jashari’s profile is the fact that he rarely gets injured and usually maintains his form and match sharpness throughout the season.
Having succeeded in playing regularly and consistently throughout the last few seasons means that Jashari can be a very reliable player who does not put the team at risk on key occasions.
He usually remains fit even when playing multiple games per week, like during the latest season with Club Brugge, when he participated in league, cup, and UEFA Champions League matches.
From a physical standpoint, it is fair to say that Jashari is not a muscular player but is definitely very difficult to beat in duels.
He is very powerful physically and likes to enter duels, relying on his dribbling techniques, explosive runs, and excellent ball protection skills.
Jashari can also be considered one of the best midfielders in terms of keeping the ball under pressure and knowing how to pass it successfully without being destabilised.
He relies mainly on his physical strength and tactical awareness, as he often knows exactly what to do with feints and passes.
He is also a midfielder who scans the pitch continuously, even when having the ball, and usually knows how and when to pass it.
That’s what makes him one of the very talented players in terms of key passes that break defensive lines, and that’s a striking similarity between him and Tijjani Reijnders.
Unlike Reijnders, who advances a lot into the box, Jashari is a midfielder who likes to contribute to the attacking actions mostly from his team’s own half and inside the second third.
That’s why he masters the role of a deep-lying playmaker even when he plays as a central midfielder and not necessarily as a defensive midfielder.
However, this does not mean that he does not advance to the box or finish his actions.
In fact, Jashari has repeatedly proven that he can be exceptional at scoring goals from near or inside the box.
However, the idea is that Jashari is a midfielder who advances less than Reijnders towards the box, but can be more dangerous than Reijnders when passing from inside his team’s own half.
Furthermore, Jashari is a midfielder with a strong personality, especially in relation to the build-up phase, during which he can be very valuable.
He usually likes to participate heavily in that phase by requesting the ball and making himself available to receive it.
He knows how to succeed in keeping it while dealing with complicated situations and putting his body first to protect the ball, win fouls, and provide the needed passes.
Touching the ball many times in the construction phase was a necessity for Jashari during his time at Club Brugge.
We saw him often lean towards the left and between the centre-backs to receive the ball and start the build-up from the back.
Furthermore, Jashari not only aims to pass the ball in that area but also has the ability and the desire to make ball progressions as soon as he finds the little space needed to take advantage of his direct opponent, which makes him more dangerous as a central midfielder.
Even though he is not one of the best dribblers in the world, Jashari knows how to surpass opponents thanks to his dribbling, but more importantly, thanks to his explosive accelerations that help him a lot during such penetrations, knowing that his progressive runs average per match reached 2.13 last season.
Another role that Jashari can excel at executing with Milan is long passing.
With 5.29 long passes attempted per game and an accuracy rate of 56.4%, Jashari does not always create danger with his vertical long passes, but when his passes are accurate, he becomes very dangerous and can easily break defensive lines.
Jashari tends to opt for long passing often, as he considers it his primary weapon if he notices a possible winger/striker penetration upfront.
That’s why monitoring his vertical long passes and targeting them more would make Jashari even more crucial.
Jashari also runs an average of 11.2 kilometres per game and is very valuable in the defensive phase thanks to his ability to intercept passes and engage in defensive duels to win the ball back.
Therefore, Jashari can be used in any midfield position, although he has mostly been used as a defensive midfielder in Club Brugge’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
In Allegri’s system, Milan are more likely to rely on three midfielders, as Allegri usually prefers that approach.
And in this case, Jashari will either be the defensive midfielder instead of Samuele Ricci or the team’s left central midfielder.
In both cases, Jashari will certainly have build-up duties and defensive ones, but if he is used as a central midfielder, he will advance more often than before, and we can expect to see him more involved in the final passes and shooting from distance.
To benefit more from Jashari’s playmaking abilities, key passing intelligence, and finishing skills, it would be more rewarding to employ him as a left central midfielder in a midfield trio.
That would encourage him to support the attacks more often, and not only initiate them.
Furthermore, advancing to the final third would help Allegri develop other plans, such as pushing the left central midfielder to advance and aiming for the ball between the lines.
In such cases, Jashari can become even more valuable since he is a specialist in spotting penetration attempts and providing the needed key passes at the right time.
The following heat map highlights Jashari’s tendency to advance a lot on the left flank while covering a lot of space inside his team’s own half.
His tendency to lean towards the left side would certainly encourage building a strong collaboration with a player like Rafael Leão, who also tends to lean towards the left, even when used as a striker or a second striker.
Building the needed chemistry between these two players, in addition to quickly understanding key players like Christian Pulisic and Santiago Giménez, would surely make Jashari’s attacking contributions even more dangerous and valuable.
Ardon Jashari Heat Map
Ardon Jashari Key Passing & Midfield Domination Traits
Jashari is a player who thrives off his creative passing and usually tries to provide such vertical passes between the lines that surprise the opponents and put his teammates in good enough situations to score.
With an average of 8.95 passes to the final third per match and a success rate reaching 74.9%, Jashari can represent an excellent addition to Milan in terms of progressive and key passes, especially inside the last third.
Even though Jashari can still become even more decisive with his passes, we can say that he is already world-class in this regard, as he usually succeeds in making the right passing decision at the perfect time.
Ardon Jashari Through Pass Assist
The following assist example highlights the key timing of the pass and the excellent vision that allowed him to spot his teammate’s movement and provide a pass into space that keeps three defenders looking at each other while the ball reaches its destination.
Furthermore, Jashari proved on numerous occasions that he can advance and be as dangerous as when he plays in midfield, providing very dangerous passes that break defensive lines and meet their receiver at the adequate timing.
Exploiting this passing talent at Milan will be very helpful, especially for the strikers and wingers, who will most likely benefit greatly from such key passes.
Ardon Jashari Key Passing
The following example shows one of the many times Jashari advanced to the final third and assisted the striker who was making the movement to escape from marking and meet Jashari’s pass between the lines.
Succeeding in doing the same with Giménez, Leão, Pulisic, and the rest will increase Jashari’s assist-making numbers, but he will need to be aware of the differences in defending between the Belgian league and the Italian one, as Italian teams tend to anticipate such passes.
Therefore, it would be important for Jashari to remain unpredictable and diversify the types and trajectories of his passes to remain dangerous and efficient in the final third.
In addition to his passing mastery, Jashari’s ball protection and ability to keep the ball at his feet can be considered underrated since he is one of the players who does anything possible not to lose the ball.
With exceptional body feints and physical resistance to opposing disturbances, he usually succeeds in keeping the ball at his feet or winning fouls.
Ardon Jashari Ball Protection
This ability to maintain possession and advance with the ball makes him even more valuable, especially in the build-up phase.
He also usually makes the right passing choice and does not put his teammates in trouble.
The following picture highlights his ability to protect the ball with his body and resist the disturbance of two opponents while knowing exactly when to accelerate and when to stop or use feints.
Such skills confirm that Jashari knows how to dominate midfield and impose his talent even when playing against tougher teams in the UEFA Champions League, as he confirmed that last season against big opponents.
Ardon Jashari Penetrations
What further showcases Jashari’s physical strength and ability to protect the ball throughout the pitch, not just in midfield, is his role in Club Brugge’s decisive second goal in the away leg of the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta last season.
During this action, Jashari penetrated from the left wing, acting like a winger, and was able to resist the disturbance of two Atalanta defenders while still holding the ball before passing it to the middle of the box for his teammate to finish the action.
This also proves that Jashari can create danger from various positions, and not only from midfield.
He has proved on numerous occasions that he can score goals when given the opportunity, shoot from distance with accuracy most of the time, and provide key passes when put in similar situations that require ball protection, penetrations with the ball, and final passes.
Conclusion
Jashari will undoubtedly be a great addition to Milan’s midfield.
He will add a lot of passing quality, ball protection, attacking penetrations, shooting from distance, and a strong defensive contribution.
Moreover, playing alongside a veteran midfielder like Modrić and with powerful midfielders like Ricci, Youssouf Fofana, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek can only make Jashari even more determined to perform better and develop even quicker to become a more complete midfielder, knowing that he is already very powerful in all aspects.
