After impressing for Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, Joe Scally is expected to join Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah at AC Milan in January.
The 20-year-old full-back scored his first goal of the season to help ‘Die Fohlen’ (The Foals) salvage a point in a 2-2 draw against Mainz on Friday. He got past one defender and unleashed a powerful long-range effort that flew inside the far post in the 88th minute.
‘I knew I was going to film it no matter what when I got it,’ Scally explained. ‘But when I saw the goalie touch it with his hand, I thought it went over the net, but it’s a good goal,’ said the player.’
Gladbach is 12th in the Bundesliga standings after losing all three home games to Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Leipzig. Last year, the club suffered as well, finishing 10th when it regularly competes for a place in the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League.
Meanwhile, Pulisic and Musah have had a good start in Serie A, with Milan second in the table despite being tied on points (18) with leaders and archrivals Inter. According to Calcio Mercato, the Rossoneri are aiming to reinforce their defense and have identified Scally, who can play on either side, as a winter target.
Milan traditionally start at right-back and left-back with Davide Calabria, Alessandro Florenzi, or Theo Hernandez, but there is a shortage of support for both positions this season, with center-backs Pierre Kalulu and Malick Thiaw frequently playing at full-back.
If Scally moves to Milan in January, he could end up playing on the same wing as Pulisic, who can play on either the left or right wing for both club and country.
Kiliann Sildillia, a French right-back born in 2002 and currently playing for Freiburg, is also on Milan’s radar as a possible replacement for Scally if a move from Monchengladbach does not work out, according to Calcio Mercato.
Scally appears to be content for the time being with preserving his current side from yet another home defeat.
‘It was a challenging game for us,’ the New York native remarked after the game on Friday. ‘Of course, we wanted to win, but getting the 2-2 at the end was crucial. I’m overjoyed to have scored my first goal of the season.’
Scally joins Gladbach in 2019 after spending two years as a teen with New York City FC.
He was named to the US men’s national team squad.
Scally earned his senior debut for the United States in a 3-0 victory against Morocco in June 2022. He’s since made five additional appearances for the US and is on Gregg Berhalter’s roster for this month’s games against Ghana and Germany.
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