Super Eagles defender Taye Taiwo is not yet in the best condition to make an impact at AC Milan, the club’s coach Massimiliano Allegri has admitted.

Although Allegri has often praised the Nigerian left-back since he arrived in Milan from Marseille a few weeks ago, the Italian insists Taiwo might struggle initially for a number of reasons, including a language barrier.

After watching the player voted third best at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005 behind Lionel Messi and Mikel Obi in a friendly last week, Allegri confessed that Taiwo was not yet ready to show the Italian audience what he is capable of.

While running the rule over his squad, Allegri praised the forward line of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano, but trod with caution when it came to his new Nigerian star.

“Taiwo has only been with us for nine days, and at the moment he has a severe workload. He does not speak good Italian and he will also have to adapt to Italian football,” Allegri told the AC Milan website.

“Ibrahimovic and Cassano were in need of a workout, so I decided to put them on together from the first minute. They both played well and gave the best performance.