GdS: ‘Zero Italians’ – the paradox in Milan’s squad construction

AC Milan’s summer transfer window once again has an international feel to it, and there is a chance that there might not be a single Italian player in next season’s first choice starting line-up.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write that Milan are getting close to signing Emerson Royal which means that he would be the third signing after Alvaro Morata and Strahinja Pavlovic, and the third to arrive from outside Italy.

Emerson will compete for a starting spot with Davide Calabria and if he wins that battle then it could see the last Italian member of the starting line-up depart. The back four would be made up of a Brazilian, a Serb (Pavlovic), an Englishman (Fikayo Tomori) and a Frenchman (Theo Hernandez).

In the midfield there is likely to be another Englishman in Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders, while in attack – behind the Spaniard Alvaro Morata – it could will be the Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze on the right, the American Christian Pulisic as an attacking midfielder and the Portuguese Rafael Leao on the left.

There are only six Italians in the current squad, two of whom have just been seriously injured, namely Marco Sportiello and Alessandro Florenzi. That leaves Davide Calabria, Matteo Gabbia, Filippo Terracciano and Tommaso Pobega.

Milan’s remaining targets are also all foreigners: Youssouf Fofana, Lazar Samardzic and Tammy Abraham, but looking at the future there are the likes of goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani, midfielder Kevin Zeroli, attacking midfielder Mattia Liberali and striker Francesco Camarda.