AC Milan forward Jeremy Menez reportedly refused to come off the bench against Lazio on Sunday and had to be persuaded to go on.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Frenchman refused to warm up in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw, before eventually being persuaded to do so by assistant manager Nenad Sakic.
It is claimed that Sakic told Menez that there was still 15 minutes remaining in the game not just a minute, so as to suggest that he had plenty of time to make a decisive impact.
The Milan star eventually came on at the 84th-minute mark and did little to change the game as he lost possession on countless occasions as he failed to get up to the speed of the encounter.
It remains to be seen what action coach Sinisa Mihajlovic now opts to take with the former Roma and PSG star, who has missed a significant part of the season due to injury and has failed to impress for the most part since returning to action.
Having previously revealed that he would be open to listening to offers from China, as reported by Football Italia, it appears as though Menez’s long-term future could see him leave the San Siro.
In turn, it will be seen as a real disappointment for the Rossoneri, with the 28-year-old scoring 16 goals in 33 appearances in Serie A last season to emerge as one of their most influential players.
However, his attitude and influence have been disappointing in more recent times and now it perhaps makes sense for Milan to consider a sale, particularly if a club from China is willing to offer a substantial fee with a number of top players from Europe moving to the Far East this year.
Menez has proven to be an important player in the past, but he isn’t indispensable. Although there are doubts over the future of Mihajlovic at Milan, the club should acknowledge that they may be better off selling if the right offer is presented to them as if the attitude isn’t right, Menez isn’t a good enough player to get away it.