Multiple sources point towards Jackson Martinez joining the Rossoneri this summer
Without a doubt, a summer of change is in full swing at AC Milan. Mr. Bee purchased a very costly minority stake in the club, Inzaghi sacked, and a roster in need of dire overhaul.
Galliani failed to convince Carlo Ancelotti in joining the new project, citing health reasons. Leaving the coaching job on the bench vacant for the moment, but with Sinisa Mihajlovic expected to be the next appointee, it’s likely that a new culture could take place at Milanello.
Milan have added a few more attackers to their squad sheet over the past 12 months, Jeremy Menez, Alessio Cerci and Mattia Destro all joined during the season, but only the Frenchman had a very notable impact on the team.
So where’s the problem? It’s everywhere for Milan on the pitch. The Rossoneri’s dreadful season can be dissected from a slew of angles, the defense was thrown together in a mix-mash fashion with a central pairing never being identified. If big money needs to be spent, it really needs to be spent reconstructing a capable backline.
Jackson Martinez brings uncertainty to the table, up until the 2012 season, he had only played in Colombia and Mexico. At 28 years old, he isn’t Milan’s youngest signing, but he will be the third most expensive, if the €35 million fee comes to fruition (only behind Rui Costa and Filippo Inzaghi).
The pressure to excel in Milan with that kind of a transfer fee will be huge, the expectation of playing one of the top five major leagues in Europe will be a totally different environment for Martinez. Despite scoring 21 goals in 29 in the Portuguese Liga Sagres, Serie A is undoubtedly on a different level for attackers.
A big positive for Milan fans to get excited about is his record in Champions League play, Martinez scored 7 goals in 8 matches for Porto in this last edition. Despite Milan not being in Europe, if and when they do get back to the top level of European football, they will have a proven and true number 9.
Porto’s team is complete, solidified and competitive. Many of their players come from South America and see Porto as the first step to reaching another European giant. AC Milan is a side that is anything but complete, solidified and competitive at the moment, and one could argue that €35 million could have been spent elsewhere to revamp the decadent midfield and defense.
ALTERNATIVES – Luciano Vietto, a 21 year old Argentine playing for Villareal took off this season following his transfer to Europe from Racing Club. Scoring 20 goals in all competitions. He is estimated to be worth between €15-20 million.
Alexander Lacazette, the Ligue 1 top goalscorer with 27 goals for Olympique Lyonnais. The 24 year old French international is in the same arena cost-wise as Martinez, but at 4 years younger and playing France, he would be another younger alternative to the Colombian.
Gabriel – The new #10 for Brazilian club Santos, where Neymar Jr. rose through to ranks. The 18 year old is entering his third season with the club and has already scored 10 goals in 47 official appearances. Long term, this may have been the best option and surely the cheapest.
However, the other side of the argument is that Berlusconi and Galliani completely abandoned their “Youth Project” and are stuck looking for stopgap solutions to a club that almost finished outside the top 10 in Serie A. Many promising Primavera players have been scrapped and have not been given any space, in a season where there was plenty of opportunity to give time to youngsters.
If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is that finally, Berlusconi is spending money on a squad that is in desperate need of repair.
The post Feature: Why Milan are making a mistake with Martinez signing appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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