With Ante Rebic in and out of the side and the ongoing conundrum that is the right winger role, Milan could have a solution in their midst already.
Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao, Mario Mandzukic and Rebic have all had their fitness issues in recent weeks, and that in turn has led to a selection headache for Stefano Pioli.
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Throughout this season, it has been an evident flaw in this side that there hasn’t been enough quality provided on the flanks.
With Samu Castillejo offering little to nothing in an offensive capacity, it’s hoped that Alexis Saelemaekers is at least restored to a more familiar role on the right side against Parma this weekend, but there is another option.
Hauge, 21, made an exciting initial impact after arriving last year, showing his quality in the Europa League to suggest that the decision to snap him up after seeing him up close for Bodo Glimt was a smart one.
However, he found his opportunities hard to come by from the back end of January onwards before he was left out of the squad for Europe altogether as perhaps the difficulty of settling in a new country and adapting to a new league and squad was still proving to be tricky with Pioli looking to protect him.
Nevertheless, as he showed with his composed and smart finish at the weekend, Hauge has the quality to make the difference out wide, and his decisive impact off the bench coupled with the limited quality coming from some of his teammates should mean he gets more playing time.
Admittedly there is still a lot for him to improve on, he is by no means the finished article and there is no guarantee that he is the man that is going to spark us back into life in the final games of the season.
However, with Castillejo struggling to showcase any real quality in the final third, which in turn also starves Zlatan Ibrahimovic of service and has a negative impact on his influence, Hauge surely deserves a chance to impress instead.
Rebic’s all-round game should ensure that he starts on the left flank now that he is fully fit again, but if Saelemaekers struggles to make an impact against Parma on Saturday, it’s hoped that Pioli looks to Hauge for a boost off the bench first before considering other options.
That in turn will put the ball back in the Norwegian youngster’s court, and if he can continue to make decisive contributions when involved, it’ll hopefully result in a reshuffle of the pecking order in that department for the last nine games of the Serie A campaign and erase possible question marks over his future at Milan.
