Fikayo Tomori and Pierre Kalulu were two of the strong points for AC Milan last season in the run-up to the Scudetto victory, but this season has seen both drop off.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) recall that Tomori and Kalulu were the starting centre-back pairing for most of the second half of the season, and Milan ended it with 31 goals conceded in the league which was the joint-lowest along with Napoli.
Tomori closed with an average score of 6.37 out of 10 in their player ratings, while Kalulu was even higher at 6.39. This season, the Englishman stands at 6.01 and the Frenchman at 5.73 after a disappointing campaign for both.
Due to the credit accumulated last year it does not mean that some inconsistency could spell the end of their time at Milan. However, the emergence of Malick Thiaw has given the coaching staff and management some opportunity to reflect.
After signing him for just €7m from Schalke 04 last summer the German has been the most impressive player who arrived during a generally disappointing window, and it seems he is now considered a starter.
Simon Kjaer’s story is different. He has made starts in Serie A and the Champions League (such as in the two legs of the quarter-finals and in the first leg of the derby) but at 34 he cannot be the lighthouse of next year’s defence.
Both Tomori and Kalulu remain non-transferable because the club have no intention of signing another centre-back. The summer budget will instead be dedicated to strengthening the other departments.
The only thing that could change that is if truly irrefutable offers arrived. Kalulu joined on a free from Lyon so would guarantee a substantial capital gain, whereas Tomori cost €29m and therefore has a slightly higher valuation.
People tend to forget that Kessie is not here anymore, Kessie played the rule of a defensive midfielder perfectly last year when he stayed at the back even when the team attacks, i think Pioli will need to either train the two defenders to play without a DMF or just get a player who can do Kessie’s job, but i honestly prefer the first option since i will prefer putting the money into bringing Milinkovic Savic to the San Siro.
You have said it all, the coach is playing with different crop of players and he is having an illusion of previous year. The way the coach set up the team is all wrong and that’s the real issue, I struggle to even see a reliable pattern to our setup or I can say we have no setup at all both on and off the ball, what we have are a crop of players running around without a preconceived plan.
People need to forget about Kessie as he’s not here anymore. Stop living in the past and move on. If we want the old times back, why not go further into the past where we had Sheva & Pippo etc. Or even more further to the Dutch trio times.
Nevertheless living in the past won’t help us today.
That’s not the point. I said the same exact thing before the season started and look how it panned out. Got criticism along the way that golden boy Pobega and Bennacer can fill the role. LOL such drivel.
The issue isn’t Kessie per se, its the role he filled. And since he’s having a bad time at Barca, I’d say let’s take him on loan and split the wage 50-50 because no way we’re paying that 12m + salary. Or get a cheaper actual CDM
Selling Tomori and going for Scalvini would not be a bad idea.. He will leave Atalanta eventually, might as well get him asap and prevent the competition from getting him.. I like tomori but he has a tendency to make silly, costly mistakes at the wrong time.. And i dont see him getting any better to be honest, while Kalulu and Thiaw will surely grow more
It would be a significant win to turn Tomori into Scalvini.
Apparently EPL clubs are sniffing around Tomori so it could happen.
“Simon Kjaer’s story is different. He has made starts in Serie A and the Champions League (such as in the two legs of the quarter-finals and in the first leg of the derby) but at 34 he cannot be the lighthouse of next year’s defence.”
Well… Kjaer has been the best CB this season. Whether people like it or not. Tomori & Kalulu have been making catastrophic errors in almost every match. Was it a coincidence that the leaky defense got fixed when Kjaer returned to the starting 11? Nope.
Trio tomori-kalulu-thiaw its just matter of time. They only need play together for long term to being great.
Well if good offer come from EPL for tomori 60-70m euro better accept that and invest that money for striker. Finding CB not that hard comparing finding good atacker
Man was I wrong with regards to Botman and I’ll fully admit that. I remember Maldini really wanted him above all else and im thinking why, after Tomori and Kalulu were beasts near the end of last season. Maldini saw something no one else saw.