Alexis Saelemaekers Scout Report At AC Milan 2025/2026: Reinvented Under Max Allegri Tactics – Player Analysis

Alexis Saelemaekers is one of the more underrated players who has been performing very well and progressing a lot over the last few seasons.

Saelemaekers is a 26-year-old Belgian international who started his career at RSC Anderlecht before moving to Serie A in 2020, joining AC Milan and gradually earning playing time with the team.

Even though Saelemaekers was not a guaranteed starter in Milan’s XI back then, he showed impressive progress season after season, despite inconsistent playing time and being used in various positions.

Crucially, Saelemaekers was then loaned out to Bologna and AS Roma during the 2023/2024 and the 2024/2025 seasons, respectively, making a considerable impact for both teams with compelling performances.

Saelemaekers came back to Milan much stronger for the 2025/2026 season.

The proof for this is that Massimiliano Allegri preferred to start most, if not all, the games with Alexis Saelemaekers as a right winger or wing-back, believing in his ability to help the team throughout the season without needing to sign a left-footed inverted winger.

This Alexis Saelemaekers scout report aims to examine his development and how he has become much more decisive and effective than in his initial seasons in Serie A.

Alexis Saelemaekers Position At AC Milan

The latest match against Pisa confirmed one truth about Saelemaekers’ evolution as a winger: his tactical flexibility allows him to adapt to various positional changes, whether from the start or during games.

In that match, Allegri initially used Saelemaekers as a right wing-back but switched him to the left wing in the second half, since Zachary Athekame was better suited to the right flank.

Saelemaekers showed great adaptability to the switch in position and was as dangerous as on the right flank, combining attacking ability with defensive support.

This was one of many matches in which Saelemaekers was very valuable to the team, especially for filling more than one position in the same match while maintaining almost the same quality, especially on the flanks.

Saelemaekers has already been used as a right-back and left-back, with more defensive duties, and was even more often deployed as a winger.

His outstanding ability to handle these various roles and positions makes him a very underrated player who deserves much more attention, especially this season.

Being underrated helps Alexis Saelemaekers perform even better.

Defences are usually more occupied and preoccupied by the presence of other attacking players, such as Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leão, leaving more space for the Belgian.

His ability and dribbling success rate in 1-v-1s have developed significantly in recent seasons, making him a danger in those scenarios.

The work rate and the team-play mentality are also two aspects that characterise Saelemaekers and make him a special player for Milan.

In Allegri’s Milan, Saelemaekers has become a key player in the team’s 3-5-2 lineup.

He has participated in all of his team’s games so far and is expected to continue adding a lot of dynamism on the right wing.

Furthermore, Alexis Saelemaekers’ reactions when losing the ball and during defensive transitions are extremely important for Milan.

In such cases, he retreats explosively, making sure to intercept or recover the ball as quickly as possible to stop attacks or counterattacking attempts.

Alexis Saelemaekers Stats

With an average of 2.97 interceptions and 6.02 recoveries in the opponent’s half this season, Saelemaekers holds one of the highest averages in Serie A for wingers regarding this aspect.

If we take Pulisic as an example, we find that the American made an average of 1.15 interceptions and 2.67 recoveries in the opponent’s half.

So, the difference between the two players’ defensive contributions is quite apparent, even though Pulisic is also a very quick player whose impact is valuable on the attacking side.

Saelemaekers’ numbers were already compelling last season, as his average of defensive duels won was very high for a winger or wing-back, as shown in the pizza chart below.

The same applies to his aerial duels won despite not being very tall.

In terms of passing, Saelemaekers’ experience in Serie A and his continuous hard work allowed him to develop significantly in this regard.

He became a much better passer, with success rates of 80% on passes to the final third and 77.3% to the penalty box.

That said, the crossing quality and the dangerous passing rates can be improved.

Alexis Saelemaekers should work harder to become a more consistent, dangerous passer, attempt more key passes between the lines, and opt for unexpected passes when needed.

Furthermore, one of Saelemaekers’ mastered roles is ball progression and penetration, which have become key traits in his attack.

Alexis Saelemaekers attempts more progressive runs than in all previous seasons, with 4.71 progressive runs so far this season and an average that does not surpass the three progressive runs during the last few seasons.

Moreover, Alexis Saelemaekers is finding it easier to penetrate thanks not just to his agility but also to his improved dribbling, which he uses very well when running, giving him a remarkable advantage over opponents in such situations.

The only drawback that Saelemaekers might need to keep fixing in this regard is the finishing quality following such penetrations.

It is true that Saelemaekers’ goal contribution rates have become much higher than before, especially compared to the expected goal contribution per 90.

However, his approach to goal-scoring opportunities, whether from inside or outside the box, needs to be further refined.

Decision-making regarding shooting techniques and trajectories has not always been Saelemaekers’ strongest asset.

On numerous occasions, he has failed to conclude as he should, missing golden opportunities due to a lack of shooting technique and a general lack of finishing in tight situations.

But even in this regard, Saelemaekers has improved significantly compared to previous seasons and has the potential to score more goals this season.

Alexis Saelemaekers Pizza Chart

Alexis Saelemaekers Attacking Evolution

Alexis Saelemaekers has become one of Milan’s most powerful and reliable attacking weapons.

His performances become more convincing with each game.