Various decisions and strategies are currently under severe scrutiny as AC Milan’s season is threatening to not just fizzle out into an unforgettable one, but crash and burn towards a disaster domestically.
A lot has been mentioned about how the squad was not sufficiently strengthened last summer after the Scudetto, how Stefano Pioli has not adequately managed the resources at his disposal nor integrated new additions and how the level of key players has dropped.
However, one thing that has not been questioned much is the decision not to invest in the squad in the January transfer window to strengthen a team that had already shown signs of weakness, such as the Supercoppa defeat against Inter and the collapse that occurred in the league.
Pioli took note of the decision and tried to go ahead with a squad that was not up to par and was arguably even weakened by the last two transfer windows.
Franck Kessie’s replacement never arrived, and he has since gone on to establish himself in the Barcelona side which is heading towards the LaLiga title win.
Then there was the decision to spend a large chunk of the budget on Charles De Ketelaere and pass up on Paulo Dybala, who has 17 goal contributions (11 goals, 6 assists) in 24 league games.
Instead Divock Origi was signed on a free transfer, a striker with a very questionable injury history and a meagre haul of 10 goals in four seasons in the Premier League.
It was clear to anyone that Milan could not rely too much on the Belgian, Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who for various reasons are unable to play continuously or to be able to support the weight of the attack. The Croatian even came from a season, that of the Scudetto, in which he had only scored two goals in Serie A.
The signs of fragility in the other roles were well known to the ownership before January, starting with Fode Ballo-Touré who has often been not up to par in the last two years, while Junior Messias is being asked to go from Crotone to be decisive in the Champions League knockout stages.
Even the decision to rely on Ciprian Tatarusanu is hard to justify, especially in light of the difficulties that the goalkeeper had already had last season replacing Mike Maignan. As much as the penalty saved from Lautaro is emphasised, the number two had already made several mistakes in the Scudetto win.
Milan found themselves playing with Brahim Diaz as a starter, the same player who had been the reserve of Hakan Calhanoglu who was hardly a world beater with the Rossoneri either.
January came around, the holes in the squad were clear, and yet RedBird Capital – despite the probably concerns of Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara – decided to proceed as things were and to not make money available.
Bringing forward an investment from the summer – not a huge one either – would have been a risk, but now the club face the even greater risk of taking a huge step back by missing out on the €50m+ that the Champions League brings.
