AC Milan know that they must sign a defensive midfielder during the summer transfer window and there are two stand-out targets at present, a report claims.
Although the investment in a new striker will almost certainly be the headline purchase of the upcoming mercato, the management are aware that there is a necessity to improve the collective defensive unit after letting in 49 goals in the league last season.
One of the areas that must therefore be addressed is the fact that there is not a natural deep-lying midfielder in the squad, something that exposed the team in transition at times under Stefano Pioli and must be fixed with Paulo Fonseca.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) this morning, Milan are also working to strengthen the midfield and there are two profiles that are attracting the interest of the directors: Youssouf Fofana of Monaco and Mats Wieffer of Feyenoord.
The price of both is around €25-30m meaning that it would require an investment, but it is likely one that was planned anyway given the various links that have emerged.
Both Fofana and Wieffer were called up by France and the Netherlands respectively for the ongoing European Championship, something which could raise their price if they impress in Germany.
While I’m not really for Fofana (or Rabiot for that matters) because I don’t think he is the defensive midfielder we’re looking for, I find it sad to think that, had we already renewed to Theo and Mike, they could have talked to Fofana and Rabiot during the Euro and try to convince them to join us.
But anyways I think the priority should be Wieffer or a similar profile.
wieffer was not called up.
Same old same old
Fofana’s agent will probably try to capitalise on the low price tag for his transfer to maximise his commission and the player’s salary, while Wieffer is reportedly on the short list at Liverpool.