USMNT: Antonee Robinson should be considered, with or without AC Milan move

Antonee Robinson’s move from Wigan Athletic to AC Milan disappointingly fell through last week. But Gregg Berhalter should still consider the defender for USMNT duty.

We haven’t seen a lot of Antonee Robinson with the U.S. Men’s National Team as of late. The left-back has struggled for form on the international stage and has slipped behind several other young, burgeoning full-backs in recent years.

However, his club form has been very strong, so much so that he nearly joined Italian giants AC Milan in the January transfer window. It was thought that Milan would sign Robinson for $13 million and take him from Wigan Athletic and the bottom of the Championship to the top eight of Serie A.

However, the deal fell through at the last minute. When undertaking his medical, which any transfer is subject to the completion of, Robinson required additional medical testing. These added tests would take 72 hours, delaying the deal beyond the 8 PM deadline. Robinson, then, would return to Wigan.

This would have been a great opportunity for Robinson to get some playing time in one of the best leagues in world football. AC Milan are a world-renowned team and Serie A is a top-five European league. This would have been a terrific opportunity for the young defender.

Robinson would have gotten to study under an excellent left-back in Theo Hernandez, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, and could test himself against some of the world’s best players, all in the hope of earning favor on the national team level.

This is where Robinson has fallen short in the Gregg Berhalter era. The 22-year-old has made seven appearances for the USMNT.

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Only one of those has come under Berhalter’s guidance, an 80-minute appearance in the 1-0 loss to Jamaica in the Gold Cup warm-up matches last summer. Robinson missed out on the international squads for the Gold Cup, September, October and November international breaks.

But domestically, he had been performing well. He has started all 29 games for Wigan and impressed to the point that AC Milan were keen to make a move. Moreover, given his age and athletic profile, it is a wonder why Berhalter has not used him previously. Robinson dealt with an ankle injury to start off 2019, but that does not explain his absence throughout the majority of the year.

Berhalter loves his MLS players and tends to not look towards European-based players, especially those not playing in a top league in Europe — just as Duane Holmes.

But if the USMNT are to have success under Berhalter, he must start to hand guys like Robinson a chance to earn a starting role. Robinson is the future, whether he is an AC Milan player or not. He just needs Berhalter to give him a chance.