Several large pieces of business are expected to be done by AC Milan this summer, notably investing in a striker and central defender, alongside recruiting a new head coach. However, the Rossoneri will also be wary of outgoing transfers, with clubs interested in three of their stars.
Milan’s budget for the summer was revealed last month, and whilst the club have room to make a few purchases due to clauses and loan spells, they may have to make a sacrifice to make the squad better as a whole, like they did last summer.
Three players are gaining a lot of interest, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, and the trio are not entirely safe in their positions for a multitude of reasons.
Starting with Mike Maignan, the Frenchman has had a few blips this season but has had a good season, which only seems like a reach because of his exceptional standard. He is a model professional, and he fits the Rossoneri to a tee in terms of his style and is a key player in the dressing room.
However, he has also expressed his desire to grow further, and his ambitions, perhaps, are higher than what Milan can achieve currently. Additionally, he is demanding a new contract with similar figures to Leao, which is causing issues with his renewal.
Then there is Theo Hernandez. It has been another year of Theo proving he is amongst the top left-backs in the world if not the best, and given his age, he will only continue to grow further as he reaches the ‘prime’ of his career. A versatile (when needed) defender who attacks brilliantly and loves the city, he would not ask to leave, but interest in him is maybe the highest of all.
On the negative side of things, his relationship with Paolo Maldini was essential to his growth, and there are some ‘rooted feelings’ about his departure, Gazzetta suggests. Moreover, he has struggled in games and has not been the star when needed, which is at times frustrating.
Finally, there is Rafael Leao. A player who has struggled this season but still provided 20+ contributions across all competitions, the highest-paid player at the club, the centre of the Rossoneri project, the club’s No.10, and a lover and great representative of the Diavolo.
However, whilst he has 24 contributions this season, he has struggled with his consistency, often disappearing in key games. It is clear that he is a fantastic player, there can be no doubt, but he currently lacks the final piece of the puzzle that takes him from world-class to one of the greatest.
the key in my opinion is not to lose theo out of the three of them. He is the one who is irreplaceable since he is a frecciarossa once he gets going
All a question of money, threshold for MM should be lowest.
It seems like only Maignan could be sold.
The Euro Championships will dictate who stays and who goes and what cheques will be written.
Let’s see how much Cardinale wants to win……
#moneyball
Clowns sell all….
Maignan cab be replaced, Leao not so much, and Theo is irreplaceable, you wont find another like him.
So hard to make a decision on Leao. No way can his field tilting talent be replaced. But if Milan can take the money from selling him and add 2-3 elite players (defensive mid, right back, attacking mid with good vision) the argument could be made that Milan can be a much better team but one lacking the all-world talent.
I think the use of world class for Leao is way off the mark. World class is for someone that would walk into the starting 11 of any team in the world which Leao does not. No player in our first 11 walks into the starting 11 of any team besides Theo.
I think the term that should be used is different class.
Exactly. Theo starts in any team in the world. Maignan might start in most teams but he’s been making some big mistakes pretty frequently and gets injured way too much for a goalie. He also wants too much of a raise, so I think he will be sold. With Leap we’ll have to see if the new coach can bring the best out of him. He has the potential to be world class if he can change his attitude.
Let’s sell our key players and gamble if the replacement will have the same quality or not. It would be fun 🤣
Yup. This is closer mentality. The ones who should go are the owners.
Aside from perhaps Mike Maignan, I see no positives in letting either Theo or Leao go. While they would certainly bring in a lot of cash, both of them are the best players in our team during these last 4 years by a good margin and even during their bad days.
Theo Hernandez especially is in the converstation for the best left back in the world, the other left backs who are in his level would cost perhpas north of 100M and won’t necessarly immediately fit in and build good parternship with our current players. Plus he is still a backbone of a team who did manage to win the scudetto.
Forwards tend be extremely expensive, so should we sell Leao, there is no guarantees we can actually bring a LW/SS/FW who is as good as him and again we have to consider the integration and partership issues.
We are supposed to try to “improve” our team and aim to win scudettis and UCLs or at minimum fight for them. Cardinale said himself that Milan should fight for these 2 titles every single year. So how are we supposed to do that if we sell our best players ? At this rate, we will become like those clubs whose only purpose is to raise players until their value raise only to sell them to more ambitious clubs.
No club is stupid to spend a lot of cash on Leao…the guy is just effing lazy.
If we get €35-40million from Leao we our on the 7th heaven…
40mil for Leao would be a bargain for any team with a great playmaker.
Watching Theo in some matches makes very angry. If he plays wonderful in a match and very bad in two important games, it is better to sell him and replace him with another one who is consistently good.