Amorim Has Turned Chukwueze Into A Wing-Back, And Chukwueze Is Fine With It
Milan · Sunday 23 August 2026
Ruben Amorim has spent pre-season playing Samuel Chukwueze at wing-back for AC Milan. Chukwueze is a winger. He has been a winger his entire career. He says the reason he has embraced it is that Amorim trusted him with it, and he calls the return to Milan after a loan spell a once in a lifetime chance.
What the job actually changes
A winger and a wing-back look similar on a team sheet and are different jobs. A winger receives the ball high, usually with a full-back already committed, and is asked to beat one man. A wing-back starts deeper, covers the full length of the touchline for ninety minutes, and has to defend a one-against-one on his own flank with no cover behind him.
The attacking part is not the problem. Chukwueze registered a goal and two assists in Milan's 4-2 pre-season win over Manchester United in Wroclaw on 15 August, from that position. The defensive part is what a season decides.
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Fulham, on loan | 25 | 3 | 4 |
His most recent full campaign before returning to Milan.
Why Amorim is doing it
Amorim's system runs on wing-backs and always has. In a back three, the two wide players provide the entire width of the team, which means they must be quick, must be comfortable on the ball in tight areas, and must be willing to run more than anyone else on the pitch. Amorim's own explanation for choosing Chukwueze came down to spirit and character rather than to technical fit.
That is the honest version. He is not converting a natural defender. He is betting that a forward with the right attitude can be taught the defensive half of the job faster than a defender can be taught to beat a full-back.
What it means for the Super Eagles
Potentially quite a lot, and it is not obvious which direction.
Nigeria's problem on the flanks has usually been the opposite of Milan's: plenty of attacking wide players, fewer who can defend a full-back's worth of ground. A Chukwueze who genuinely learns the position gives a national coach an option that does not currently exist in the squad.
The risk is the same one that attends every positional conversion. A player who spends a season doing a job he was not built for can lose the thing he was actually good at, which in Chukwueze's case is running at defenders from wide with the ball. Nigeria needs that more than it needs another defender.
Milan play Torino today. He is expected to start, and the answer starts arriving.
Reporting: Pulse Sports Nigeria, Soccernet NG, SempreMilan and Football In Nigeria.
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