AC Milan: Three hopes, one fear

Hope #3: That Gianluigi Donnarumma can avoid the sophomore slump.

Last season Gianluigi Donnarumma at the tender of 16 years old made his Serie A debut for AC Milan. While it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility for teenagers to play games at the top-level of football it has never really been done at the age of 16 and so well. Rather than just being a bit player and a chance to hawk jerseys Donnarumma impressed making 36 starts across all competitions.

What makes Donnarumma so impressive is his composure. At such a young age it is often very difficult for goalkeepers to do the little things. Goalkeepers often have to set up defenders, dictate the pace of the match, and how to read attackers.

These are skills are not often picked up until goalkeepers are 25 to 29 years old, mostly because so much of what they have to do is mental. But in limited appearances Donnarumma showed that he had little problem picking up the nuances of the position.

The question is now can he do it again in year two. Without Christian Abbiati as his back-up  and veteran defenders Philippe Mexes and Alex gone this is a much younger Milan side. The good news is down the line this will make Donnarumma a better goalkeeper. But there will be growing pains.