It’s been a good start to the season at the San Siro, where Milan’s success has been built on a blend of defensive strength and experience.
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This is epitomised by a core of players who honed their craft, at least in part, in the competitive proving ground of the English Premier League. And it’s a combination that is leading to some talk that this could be a seriously good campaign for the Rossoneri.
Milan’s Englishmen
Possessing one of the best defensive records in Serie A has certainly been the foundation upon which Milan’s early season success has been based. And at the core of that has been an Englishman who has steadily grown in his four years at the club: Fikayo Tomori.
Signed from Chelsea, initially on loan, the five-cap England international has been integral to the collection of clean sheets that have helped propel the club up the Serie A table.
A national team recall is surely close at hand for a player who has been one of the top performing defenders in the division this season. And if Tomori does find himself back in the England fold, it could well be alongside team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who is another player excelling at the San Siro.
Although not featuring quite as regularly as his compatriot, Loftus-Cheek’s composed performances in midfield have helped the player earn his first international recognition for seven years when being called up for recent World Cup qualifiers. Rich reward indeed for a player who is now in his third season in Italy.
Premier League experience
One player who has undoubtedly been integral to Milan’s strong start this campaign is veteran Luka Modric. Heralded as one of the finest players on the planet, and a Ballon d’Or winner in his magnificent time at Real Madrid in which the little Croatian maestro won everything, the playmaker has slipped into his new surroundings in Serie A with ease.
But it’s worth remembering that this was a player who honed his craft over four successful seasons with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, before moving on to immortality in Spain’s capital.
Modric is not the only former Premier League player pulling up trees for the Rossoneri, of course. Milan’s top scorer so far this season is Christian Pulisic, a player who like Loftus-Cheek also joined from Chelsea. It’s been a slow burn for the USA international in the San Siro, but he is now living up to his reputation.
Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek are joined by a third player with Stamford Bridge experience. Striker Christopher Nkunku arrived from England’s capital in the summer, but has only featured sparingly so far. We await to see what the Frenchman’s true impact will be.
And yet another player with Premier League experience is Pervis Estupinan, whose red card at Napoli doesn’t negate the positive impact the Ecuadorian wing-back has had overall since his summer arrival from Brighton. It’s with this wealth of experience crafted in England that Milan are building up a head of momentum that many top-rated sportsbooks believe could justifiably lead to a title tilt.
Ex-Premier League players making their mark across the league
Milan’s approach of signing players either directly from England’s Premier League or picking up talent that was at least partly honed there is hardly a unique approach across Serie A.
Indeed, with the money awash in England, it’s inevitable that there are players who can be lured away as English clubs constantly churn over squads with expensive new signings. Indeed, the more money Premier League club’s spend, the more Italian sides can benefit indirectly.
There is no better example of this than reigning champions Napoli, whose success last season was built upon a clutch of players with Premier league nous. Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Frank Anguissa (Fulham), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, Manchester United etc.) and Billy Gilmour (Brighton) were stalwarts of that success.
And I Partenopei have doubled down on that approach this campaign, bringing in Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) and Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United) to supplement their title-winning squad.
And there are plenty more clubs following this approach, at least in part. Indeed, there are more British and Irish players across the league than perhaps at any time before.
It’s a list that includes Lloyd Kelly at Juventus, Lewis Ferguson at Bologna, Brooke Norton-Cuffy at Genoa, Torino’s Tino Anjorin and Che Adams, Kienan Davis at Udinese, Daniel Oyegoke at Hellas Verona and Evan Ferguson at Roma.
That’s only this current campaign, with a host of others that have recently been and gone, including past England internationals Chris Smalling, Tammy Abraham and Ashley Young.
Legends
What remains to be seen is if this current crop reach the iconic status of some previous British and Irish exports to Serie A. McTominay is arguably already there after his sensational campaign in Naples last time out.
But will there be another Beckham, Brady, Ince, Gascoigne or Platt? This current batch may not be quite as high profile, but they are arguably contributing to Serie A success more than ever before. Milan definitely hope that will be the case as the 2025/26 season rolls on.