AC Milan are planning for the 2026-27 season, and if they get into the Champions League there are eight players they will build around.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report that if the collapse continues and Milan miss up on top four, the upheaval will be profound. Even if everything goes smoothly, the squad is in for a busy summer, with pressing needs for both incoming and outgoing players.
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It will be necessary to expand the squad in terms of quality and quantity, while also selling those no longer part of the plans. Amid all these evaluations, however, there is also a handful of players deemed useful and central to the plans.
None will be unsellable – this must be clearly emphasised – but there will be a core group that Massimiliano Allegri would like to build around. Eight players, to be precise.
The eight cornerstones
Davide Bartesaghi‘s recent slump – one largely shared by his team-mates – hasn’t affected the coach and management’s assessment of him. The club also sees the left-back as a jewel in the crown, representing the perfect synergy between Milan Futuro and the first team. Another left-back will arrive if Pervis Estupinan leaves, but Bartesaghi will remain.
Matteo Gabbia is a captain without the armband, one of the leaders of the dressing room despite not being a veteran by age. He is a veteran in Rossoneri terms, a club he attended as a child and whose DNA is Milanismo. He is the most reliable player in one of Europe’s most impervious defences, and he must be kept.
Mike Maignan is the official captain, wearing the armband since the start of the season. It’s one of the things Allegri used to explain his centrality and obtain a renewal. In terms of performances, Mike has earned the Rossoneri a lot more points than he has lost them, and as one of the best in his position, he will be built around.
Strahinja Pavlovic has had a much better second season at Milan, after an up-and-down 2024-25 campaign. He still has some lapses but he’s made clear progress, and has actually become an added attacker at times. Pavlovic is perhaps the biggest pleasant surprise of this season, leading to talk of interest from abroad.
Christian Pulisic must decide what he wants to do with his future. In this sense, the total stalemate over his renewal doesn’t help clarity. If we leave that aside for a moment, the American is undoubtedly one of the players the club intends to build on. The management are fully aware of his value and what he can contribute, so he is ‘almost certain’ to remain.
Adrien Rabiot is one of the team’s two driving forces. He has experience plus character, strength, technique and an eye for goal. In his first year with Milan, the Frenchman enjoyed one of the best periods of his career, personally speaking. He’s also one of the dressing room captains without an armband. Allegri loves him, and that won’t stop.
Alexis Saelemaekers’ decline in performance recently is among the most obvious, but it’s also physiological. He is a marathon runner on the wing who never stops and covers the entire flank. Considering he’s practically had no real alternative (he played 2,891 minutes this season, Athekame 722), he’s now paying the price. However, his work rate and quality are what Allegri esteems.
Fikayo Tomori is currently under fire for the red card against Sassuolo that left Milan with ten men for over an hour, a factor that undoubtedly contributed to the defeat. Overall, however, the management believe the Englishman always contributes. There are even advanced talks regarding a contract renewal, suggesting he will remain.
Maignan, Pavlovic, Modric, Rabiot and Pulisic, only them. If we mean to do something big, we need six (or five) starters, two DC’s, RWB, LWB, MC & SC. How can you seriously expect from Tomori, Gabbia and Bartesaghi to be our cornerstones and expect trophies at the same time? Maybe Gabbia can pass but both Tomori and Gabbia and Bartesaghi too on top of that? Three average players? Don’t mean to belittle anyone but that’s a fact and we must deal with that, our squad is full of mediocrity. If you really think like this, we need only backup DC this summer instead of Odogu or besides him and that would be a joke of the century. Come on!
If you dislike Italian players so much why do you support an Italian team?
Beat it.
But your team could play in any league and it would make no difference.
So what’s the point of a national league?
What’s the point of supporting the players this season if you want new players next season?
After all of the disastrous revolutions you still don’t learn.
I responded you once (It wasn’t so long ago at all, just look it up and respect my effort at least that much) and it was quite a decent reply if I may say so about my comment. Nothing against Italian players, I wouldn’t mind so many of them (there I even listed you 15-20 of them, why would I repeat myself when you can find it with just a few clicks), you consistently reduce these things to banality and some irrelevant reasons and motives, I have no intention of participating in that. You might be right about that revolution, though, time will tell.
But your ratings are completely arbitrary.
You’re saying that Gabba and Bartesaghi aren’t “good enough” but they’ve been part of the best defence for most of the season.
Why would you make changes to the best defence?
To have a better defence than the best defence?
Just try and be happy. And support Italian players rather than setting imaginary standards that will never be reached.
They are not arbitary at all. Playing in both phases? Ever heard of that? There might not be too much space and need for improving the defense although that’s not the case either but they all need to contribute in attack too, including Matteo and Barte. If you are happy with Bartesaghi, I really can not be, you are probably much younger than me, that would explain a lot.
*arbitrary
Here we go again. It’s not the best defense because the defenders are so good… they are not. They have conceded the fewest goals because Allegri plays 10 men behind the ball with no regard for attacking at all, which is why the offense is so terrible.
But I’m trying to explain this to a guy who thought Calabria should be our starting RB. Now he’s playing in the 30th ranked league in the world.
Why do you support avrage and below avrage italian players starting for Milan ?
Tako je, Marko, jebi mu kevu Hahaha Lik se pravi kao da je neki cuvar Milana, smesan je do bola, papalina.
Aj molim te
Sta bre “molim te”? Moli se u crkvi.
Papalina ti je u gačama
Bogami, tesko da mi je ono izmedju nogu papalina, pre bih rekao da je to nesto mnogo vece, taman za tvoju sestru.
@Revolt
Leave his sister out of it. LOL!!!
LOL Better to be a SILF than a MILF or a GILF 😀
Ti turski konjušar, teško.
Iako ja jesam iz zemlje koja vam je nabila komplekse, moji preci su tamanili turke za razliku od vas koji ste vecne verne sluge, idi da timaris konje svojem gazdi iz beca. Zna se ko je bio Vlad Cepes, vi nikad nista ni slicno njemu niste imali, vecito ste samo ljubili skute.
What does “average” and “below average” even mean?
These are just meaningless ratings that people trot out because they think real football is like computer games.
“What does “average” and “below average” even mean?”
Asking questions like these only highlights how clueless you are. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
so we must make average players our cornerstone just because they’re italian?
Uefa list give a big incentive to have starting quality players who ate ex academy.
For this reason Gabbia and Bartesaghi are key cornerstones for the future.
Bro, do you even know and realise what cornerstone means? Not to mention KEY CORNERSTONES, HEY!
I never implied that we should sell them, they can be useful for rotation and I don’t have anything against them and the idea of them being part of the squad as long as they are not in the starting lineup, much less regular starters.
OF those three (Tomori, MG, Barte), only Gabbia maybe can but that is still a big MAYBE.
You wouldn’t know what a cornerstone is if it hit you in the head paorčino. 😂😂
You are already hit and hit hard, paor ti tata, kmete.
🤣🤣🤣
You know what they say, it’s only funny because it’s true. Nobody asked you to interfere and intervene, that was between that guy and myself, why are you doing it then? It’s like you don’t have anything better and smarter to do, are you that bored? Cornerstone, eh, it’s not me who doesn’t understand the meaning.
There just isn’t enough money to get that many starters. We have been in the loop of buying players, finding them unsuitable and unable to offload.
That’s actually not true at all, if we qualify for the UCL, there will be 150-200 million euros available for transfers. How is it that you think there won’t be enough money, my friend? Gila (20-25), Ake (5 to 10 at most, maybe I’m wrong but I doubt it), RWB (25 to 30 or maybe even 35), Goretzka (OK, we would snatch him for free but (we) would also be obligated to pay him and his entourage a hefty commission just like in Vlahovic’s case, I’ll give you that), Chiesa (not more than 10-15), Grimaldo and Sorloth cca 20 each. Even if I am mistaken about some of the transfer fees, that wouldn’t make too much difference, that’s all still within our “range”, so to speak.
The list was going well until I got to the last one… And this is assuming we get top four and Allegri stays- if we don’t Allegri and his boyfriend + Pulisic are probably out the door..
Agree. I thought the list was solid until Tomori. Time to cash in on the English players. They are likely to attract a decent price with mid table EPL sides.
Those 8 are a good start.
Gabba and Bartesaghi are absolutely essential to giving the team a foundation but they need more.
These players are still not playing for each other. There is no real team spirit.
The team spirit was drained out of the squad in the last few years, and it’s difficult to see how it will recover.
A second season of mostly the same players playing together will help.
They’ll need a win though to bind them.
A Coppa Italia would help.
A Scudetto would be ideal.
It’s almost like your first job. You need experience to get a job but can’t get experience without a job.
This is the challenge. It can’t be found on the transfer market. What can be found on the transfer market is that class or next level player that can lift this squad.
Look at the impact of Rabiot and Modric?
They need another Rabiot and Modric.
A top striker would lift this squad to the next stratosphere.
An upgrade on Fofana also might (but they need to keep Fofana as well and he can cover for Rabiot and the new midfielder).
The defence really needs to be left. They’re about 50 games off becoming a unit.
If they make too many changes they’ll undo the fragile foundations they’ve built this season.
Maignan, Terracciano, Torriani-
De Winter, Tomori, GILA, Gabbia, Pavlovic, AKE-
DODO/MOLINA/DOUE, Saelemakers, Athekame,
GORETZKA, Fofana, Musah/Bondo, Modric, Ricci, Rabiot, Ardon, Comotto, GRIMALDO, Bartesaghi-
Pulisic, CHIESA, VLAHOVIC, SORLOTH, Camarda;
Maignan, Terracciano, Torriani-
De Winter, Tomori, GILA, Gabbia, Pavlovic, AKE-
DODO/MOLINA/DOUE, Saelemakers, Athekame,
GORETZKA, Fofana, Musah/Bondo, Modric, Ricci,
Rabiot, Ardon, Comotto, GRIMALDO, Bartesaghi-
Pulisic, CHIESA, VLAHOVIC, SORLOTH, Camarda;
Saelemakers was really a quality player someone would have bought him when Milan was giving him out. He has amazing work rate, besides that he is average in everything. He will still be a good backup for multiple positions, but if he’s a starter…
All of this assumes they can get how much for Leao? 60-70 mil?
If Milan can get close to 50 mil for Leao, they have robbed that team
We need bellanova, gila, Ake or Min jae, kovacic, Moise Kean
We also need a LWB and we need two new strikers, not just one.
I don’t know why you guys argue over irrelevant things… None of these player make a difference whether they are above average or not, because everyone is up for player trading. The only question for Furlani is “Is there a market for this player?”
This management has shown us that they don’t build on a core of strong players. They sell them.
I’d prefer to keep these..
MM
Tor
KDW
Salad
Gab
Bart
Rab
Mod
Puli
Rafa