It’s safe to say that, despite a rough start to the 2015 summer transfer window, Milan have had a pretty solid summer so far.
By Patrick Stoll
The Rossoneri have brought in some solid talent, while cleaning house of dead weight and players that will not fit in new manager Siniša Mihajlović’s vision for the club.
So far in this transfer window, the Red and Blacks have brought in the likes of midfielder Andrea Bertolacci from Roma, Rodrigo Ely, a center back from Avellino, forward Luiz Adriano from Shakhtar, striker Carlos Bacca from Sevilla, Simone Verdi, an attacking forward from Torino, and Jose Mauri, a midfielder from Parma.
Verdi is 22, Ely is 21, Bertolacci is 24, Adriano and Bacca are both 28, and Mauri is 19. The combined cost of these players is just over €58 million. While that may be a lot of money (20 for Bertolacci and 30 for Bacca), I would be inclined to say it has been good business from Milan so far this summer. They have to accept that in their current situation, they must overpay for some players to get them to come to the club, so that the club can come up from their measly 10th place and return to being a club that everyone wants to be a part of.
Despite the sting of missing out on near signings Jackson Martinez (Atletico Madrid) and Geoffery Kondogbia (Inter), Milan have had a couple more good moves this summer. They resigned Nigel De Jong. They terminated the contract of Sulley Muntari, who is currently without a club after disgracing the shirt of Milan (he does have reported interest from Fiorentina). They also let Michael Essien walk away after his contract expired, who then signed with Panathinaikos. This summer also resulted in the loss Giampaolo Pazzini, who is currently a Hellas Verona player. The same applied to Daniele Bonera. Valter Birsa has left for Chievo Verona. They bought the rest of Luca Antonelli for 4.5 million euro.
Marco Van Ginkel also returned to Chelsea from his loan spell at Milan, after seeing a little too much of the bench to make an impact under then- manager Pippo Inzaghi. Mattia Destro also returned to his parent club, Roma, and has been linked with another transfer away.
Then consider the not so good business (besides the whole Martinez and Kondogbia things). Riccardo Saponara, the 23-year-old midfielder who was once dubbed “The next Kaka,” was sold to Empoli after he returned to Milan after his loan spell at Empoli. He is now linked with moves for at least 14 million euro to Juventus and Napoli. Adil Rami, the center back who was arguably, or maybe not so arguably, Milan’s best defender last year, as well as a player who paid thousands out of his own pocket to pay for some of his transfer fee to the Rossoneri, was sold to Sevilla. Meanwhile, 17-year-old midfield prodigy Hachim Mastour is linked with a move away from Milan, possibly for an Ibrahimovich swap, possibly for some cash. Milan was linked to Daniele Baselli for a while, but Torino just signed him and Davide Zappacosta from Atalanta.
The point is, Milan have had a transfer window that can be accurately described as “pretty good.” Is it kind of disappointing? Sure. Martinez and Kondogbia were just a couple steps away from signing contracts. Rami could have stayed. Saponara did not need to be sold. But when you factor in that Muntari, Essien, and Bonera are gone, as well as the additions of Bacca, Adriano, Mauri, and Bertolacci, you end up with an overall positive transfer window.
But Milan must keep going.
Milan has a starting lineup right now that is good in goal (Diego Lopez) and in the attack (Stephan El Shaarawy, Adriano, Bacca, M’Baye Niang, Verdi, Suso). There is also Keisuke Honda, Jeremy Menez, and Alessio Cerci, assuming none of them leave.
But what about the defense? Their defensive roster consists of Ely, a newly extended Philippe Mexes, Michelangelo Albertazzi, who is linked to a move, Alex, who is a couple steps from going to Brazil, Cristian Zaccardo, Cristian Zapata, Gabriel Paletta, Antonelli, Ignazio Abate, and Mattia De Sciglio. Right now, you can have a starting lineup of De Sciglio, Mexes, Zapata, and Abate, and that is if Alex does not start. That is honestly not a back line, especially in the center, that inspires confidence. Even Mihajlović said after their friendly with Alcione “We need another central defender.”
Milan have been linked to 20-year-old Roma starlet Alessio Romagnoli for some time now. Roma want a reported 22-23 million euro offer, while Milan is close to offering around 20. Milan are also linked to Axel Witsel, the midfielder from Zenit. They have also been mentioned in the same sentence as Ikay Gundogan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The defense needs help. You need a good defense to win championships. Look at Juventus, with an all star back line of Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and Andrea Barzagli, as well as Patrice Evra, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Mauricio Isla, and Martin Caceres. Meanwhile, Milan hopes to qualify for the Champions League with Mexes, Zapata, Alex, and Zaccardo. That’s not going to happen.
Milan should close the deal for Romagnoli as soon as possible. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get another defender as well, but it does not appear they are in the market for another. A dream scenario, and one that has been brought up this summer, would be also paying (admittedly a significant amount) for the services of Mats Hummels from Dortmund. Then you have a back line of De Sciglio, Romagnoli, Hummels, and Abate, right in front of miracle worker Diego Lopez, who may well be the second best goalkeeper in the league.
I also say that Milan needs to acquire Witsel or Gundogan. If money is not an issue anymore, for the love of calcio, spend money. The midfield roster right now has De Jong, who should start in whatever lineup Mihajlovic has, Giacomo Bonaventura, who is a good, solid player, one of Milan’s best last year, Bertolacci, who immediately improves the midfield, Andrea Poli, a workhorse and solid, but industrial, player, Mauri, and Riccardo Montolivo. That is not a bad group of midfielders, but not the best. Montolivo is not the player he once was, or that coaches think he was. Antonio Nocerino is still on the roster.
If I am Milan, I want to bring fresh, young blood into the system. The midfield last year was a disgrace and couldn’t move the ball much better than I could. I would say to bring in Gundogan, despite injuries, or bring in Witsel. You have a very good, dynamic, creative midfield with either of the two of them. In a 4-3-1-2, as Mihajlovic said he wants to use, you can have De Jong in the middle, flanked by Gundogan/ Witsel and Bertolacci. A crowded midfield is not bad to have, but given the formation Mihajlovic wants to play, some playmakers may be in a rotation.
Lastly, I say bring in Ibrahimovic. I say this because he guarantees goals. He may be up there in age, but still produces at a high level, and Milanisti would love to see him back in red and black stripes. Knowing him, if he stays healthy, and has some good midfield getting him the ball, he can score at least 20 goals. Considering that Milan is only participating in Serie A and the Copa Italia next season, there should not be too much wear and tear on him. Despite a crowded attack, Milan can use Ibrahimovic. They don’t need more offensive players, but they can use Ibra.
Here is what I would do: Sell Menez while his value is high. He produced for Milan, but is a selfish player. He can get some transfer cash for Milan. I would also dare to sell Montolivo, as he does not produce at a high level. Replace him with a younger, better player. Let De Jong anchor the midfield. Get rid of Zaccardo. He does not help the team. I would not have extended Mexes either. Sell Matri. Get Nocerino out. Bring in Witsel. Get Romagnoli. Pay for Hummels. Bring in Gundogan too, if you can. Bring Ibra back. Keep the transfer window rolling.
Milan needs to keep active this summer if they want to compete. Right now, their roster may be able to compete for top six. But they want to return to Europe, and to the Champions League, where they belong. They have made strides forward, but cannot stop here. This team will not win Serie A. They cannot expect to win the league this year. But they must go forward with that mentality, and they must keep improving to get back to what they should be. If they stay active, that will be healthy strides to bringing Milan back to glory. If they stop here, while they improved, they still not have met their goals. Mihajlovic has put the team facing the right direction with his attitude, now the organization needs to back him up and continue improving the team. Then you may see Milan back where they belong.
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