One of the issues that continues to be talked about relating to AC Milan’s squad is how little Italian influence there is, especially in the starting line-up.
As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) recall, both the new coach Paulo Fonseca and Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic were asked about the lack of Italians in their press conferences a few weeks ago.
The answer was clear: quality is the primary characteristic when looking for players who can improve the team, regardless of nationality. The paper carries a headline on the issue that states: ‘Fonseca’s Milan no longer speaks Italian’.
It all starts with the possibility of seeing an entirely foreign starting eleven next season, as is hypothesised. The team should be as follows: Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez; Tijjani Reijnders, Youssouf Fofana; Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao; Alvaro Morata.
The subtitle reads: ‘The only exceptions will be Calabria and Gabbia, with some possibility [of seeing them start games]. Pobega, Terracciano, Sportiello and Florenzi will start from the back [of the pecking order]’.
The problem is that the top Italian players, in addition to being objectively few, are also much more expensive. At the same time, Milan are looking to the future and they have players like Francesco Camarda, Kevin Zeroli, Mattia Liberali, Lorenzo Torriani and Davide Bartesaghi.