AC Milan were one of the busiest clubs in Europe when it came to summer signings with 10 new faces arriving at the club, and the early signs are good.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, three of them are starters – namely Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders – while three others have come off the bench which are Yunus Musah, Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor.
The other four include the deputy goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, the newly arrived deputy to Olivier Giroud which is LukaJovic and the young talents Marco Pellegrino and Luka Romero who will grow without pressure.
From the first indications, the new players are repaying the trust and above all the spending, which was substantial (€113m, bonuses excluded) and in turn financed by the Champions League bonus and the sale of Sandro Tonali.
Pioli had also asked for a squad that had depth but without any players he didn’t consider useful, so the management proceeded to cut 19 players when factoring in contract expiries, loan exits and sales.
The contribution of the new signings was decisive in obtaining three wins from three to begin the season. For example, in his debut against Bologna Reijnders did not misplace any of his 27 attempted passes, the first Milan player to do so in twenty years. With one of those he set up Giroud for the first Rossoneri goal of the season.
Against Torino Loftus-Cheek was the king of duels, winning eight. He also made his physique count during the goal to make it 1-0, winning the battle shoulder to shoulder with Rodriguez and providing the assist to Pulisic.
All three were also decisive against Roma. The penalty was awarded for a foul on Loftus-Cheek, while Reijnders’ vertical movement of the ball and Pulisic’s dynamism stretched the Giallorossi.
In the final minutes with a lead to protect Pioli called upon Chukwueze and Okafor, two talented attackers who gave up their usual exploits for defensive work rate just as Musah had already done against Torino.
The paper’s average ratings reflect how useful the additions have been. Pulisic leads with 7.16, Reijnders follows with 7 (second spot shared with Giroud) and Loftus-Cheek closes the podium with 6.83. Leao fourth at 6.6.
The jury remains out on Chukwueze, Okafor and Musah. In the next few games they will get more chances, because Pioli explained that after a busy summer and with few friendlies behind them, their condition cannot be equal to that of their team-mates.
When they reach the same level, the solutions available to the coach will increase further. Chukwu is the dribbling man, while Okafor and Musah are young but experienced players who will each add something.