Mario Gila has further solidified his claims as being one of the best defenders in Serie A this season, but AC Milan are in a difficult position.
It’s clear that Gila brings a new class to the backline. A reliability across the board which others do not provide. Defensively, class. On the ball, assured. He’s a fantastic player, but Milan are already showing that they cannot do without him.
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Doing without Gila
As written in this morning’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, seen below, for the 251 minutes that Gila has been on the pitch, the Rossoneri haven’t conceded. In the minutes that he hasn’t been on the pitch, they’ve conceded twice. It cements the eye-test, if you will, that the Spaniard is ‘irreplaceable’ at the back.
However, the depth raises questions. Right now, Koni De Winter, Matteo Gabbia, Pietro Terracciano, Sankhoun Diawara and Fikayo Tomori (eventually) make up the other defensive cover.
With Gila regularly having to come off with small problems – the knee issue at the Allianz, for example – the question of the depth re-emerges and whether there’s strength in the depth available.
Unfortunately, it’s a trend with Gila. At Lazio, his last appearance in Turin ended in the 77th minute; that was in February. From that point – February 2026 – he made 10 more starts, with seven substitute appearances, completing only three games.
January reinforcements
There is no doubt that the Diavolo need their best defender on the pitch for every minute; he’s already becoming a leader in the team for this reason. However, alternatives are scarce with Gabbia’s ankle issue and Tomori’s summer situation.
So, leaders aren’t really a thing in the back three.
For this reason, a January dive into the mercato is expected and Goncalo Inacio is deemed capable of ‘further raising the bar’. He could be a Christmas present for Milan and Ruben Amorim, but the club cannot wait to acquire him. They can’t face another situation like this summer’s.
Amorim and Cardinale apparently agreed “We’re fine as we are”… then made a half-a$$ attempt to bring in a defender on the last day of the window… and now realize we need one in January… I mean, chimps have better planning ability than this…
Keep complaining
Compelling counterargument 😂
Depends is the media correct about the reason but if they really didn’t sign the guy from Lecce because of the Gila price it is amazing haha.Nobody told Cardinale that he got Gila for 30M just because his contract was expiring in a year?
Who knows – but they went for Inacio too. Why leave it until the last day of the window? And the whole Tomori thing too is just an embarrassment.. but I better stop complaining now or “Lord of Hate” will get upset again…
Diawara is an unknown but they placed a lot of faith in him. DeWinter was next level against Juve, the question being whether he can keep it up. Last season he’s been hit and miss.
Gabbia when fit, provides a lot of calm in defense even if he’s not an elite CB, he’s a leader and that’s what our back line lacks.
It’s enough to start with, injuries notwithstanding. But in the winter they definitely need to reassess and elevate the level.
Why not trying for Lucas Beraldo from PSG ? A loan with option if PSG are open to such a deal…
Gila is ok, 6 out of 10 defender. If he was really a top defender he’d be in Madrid this year. Don’t get this overhyping of players. He is world class and had one year of contract left but only Atalanta and Milan wanted him? Definitely better than Pavlovic, Tomori or Gabbia but still just a bit above average.
He will probably have injury problems and will not be able to handle the demands of Serie A and Europa league. Gabbia was used to replace Gila by moving DeWinter to the RCB. That is a reasonable substitution scheme for now. But injuries are inevitable and contingencies will need to be explored. Maybe Pavlovic to CB in a pinch.