While waiting for the new sporting director and head coach to be announced, the AC Milan management already have some issues to tackle.
Calciomercato.com write how the Milan of the future has not yet been outlined. The results on the pitch will inevitably affect the construction of the squad, given that missing out on European football is an increasing possibility.
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In short, the Rossoneri are literally an ‘open construction site’, but between now and the end of the season – even with regards to the current squad – there are at least eight decisions that will have to be made.
Kyle Walker: Arrived in January on loan with an option to buy for €5m to add leadership and charisma to the dressing room. His contribution today has not been up to expectations to the point that, at present, that figure seems too high for a player of his age and with that salary. If there is no qualification for the next Champions League, a return to England could be probable.
Mike Maignan: His contract expires in June 2026 and negotiations for the renewal of the agreement are at a standstill at present. Without the UCL, the offer will be lower and Maignan himself could refuse it. In that case a sale would be considered to avoid a repeat of the Gianluigi Donnarumma situation.
Alessandro Florenzi: The contract of the former Roma man expires at the end of this season. With the injury behind him, the idea of a one-year extension at a figure much lower than the €3m net per year he currently receives is a strong possibility, given the squad list requirements. A meeting scheduled with his agents will define the future.
Tammy Abraham: He arrived in Milan on loan from Roma with Alexis Saelemaekers going the other way. The Giallorossi are very happy with the Belgian’s impact and would like to buy him, while the Rossoneri are happy with the Englishman but consider the values to be different. A farewell is more likely than a permanent stay, especially given Abraham’s €6m net salary.
Luka Jovic: The Serbian’s recent performances, with goals scored versus Napoli and Fiorentina, have made him climb the internal hierarchy. His deal expires at the end of the current season, but technical director Geoffrey Moncada is pushing hard to try and give him a contract extension.
Joao Felix: The Portuguese’s hope of staying at Milan has quickly disappeared, just like his impact in games. The choice on Felix seems already made: at the end of the season he will return to London to then find a new club.
Riccardo Sottil: His future is still to be written. The loan with option to buy gives the Rossoneri the chance to choose, but the €10m figure required is too much at present for the limit impact he has had. The squad list issue could favour him, but a discount will be needed.
Theo Hernandez: Along with Maignan, this is the other thorny issue with a contract expiring in 2026 and with talks over a renewal having not yet materialised. There are doubts in the club regarding the performances he has had in the last two years and the request that the player is making on an economic level to extend. If an agreement is not reached, a sale is possible.
Kyle Walker: let him get back to Manchester City. Too old and didn’t show anything to justify purchasing him.
Mike Maignan: Tough one. Was terrific in the last 2 games but ruined our season during january/february. I would say it will depend on how much we can get from him.
Alessandro Florenzi: While I do like him and he is one of the few Italians remaining, he is too old and had too many big injuries recently. Plus this recent thing with gambling doesn’t sit well with me.
Tammy Abraham: I think he did show enough to be purchased. That being said, players on loan who want to be purchased and those who already sit on high paychecks behave differently. Just saying.
Luka Jović: I guess he deserves another chance. He wasn’t crap last season and it was the coaches who dropped him this seson. That being said, players on contract end who want to be reneweed and those who already sit on high paychecks behave differently. Just saying.
João Félix: Must send back to Chelsea right now. Not in the summer, even right now would be good.
Riccardo Sottil: Didn’t play long enough for him to be judged. He is Italian so at least no foreign place taken (as if we’re playing in UCL next season though…). I guess it depend on how much he will cost.
Théo Hernandez: The number of bad behaviours and mistakes he has done this season is too high and fatigue alone can’t excuse all of them. He set the ceiling very high for forgivness. That being said, I’d rather we renew to him even if it is to sell him than losing him for free. Now of course, he has to lower his demands.
Everything depends on DS and coach. Useless to ramble on about this…
Just clean the house first.
Sell Origi, Tomori, Emerson, Pellegrino, Musah, RLC, Okafor, Chuk, Lazetić and send back Walker, Sottil and Felix.
Hard to sell players (ie. Origi, RLC, Lazetic) who literally NO ONE wants to buy.
At this point our finances are good enough to push the boundaries of FFP. Teams are allowed to declare losses on Football related operations of up to 60 million euros over 3 seasons. That means, Redbird has no excuse when it comes to renewals of Maignan and Theo. They have to sign extensions. In any business and company, the cost of replacing your most valuable assets is more expensive than retaining them. This management somehow thought they are exempt of that basic reality that is even more applicable in Sports. We are not juggling numbers with hundreds of assets qualified to offer the same skillsets and value. Team building and chemistry takes years to do. When you have proven commodities that proved they can perform in your environment, you keep them at all costs. They hopefully learned with Kessie, Hakan and Tonali that it is risker and more expensive to rely on sales and acquiring replacements.
Theo has been overworked and hasn’t had time to recharge his batteries. You will not find a player of equal value no matter how much you sell him for or at a lesser cost with the potential to be good enough to justify losing a player in his role. It took 10 years to find suitable player because that position has very few options that match at elite levels. His performance declined because we never rested him because these cheap owners never coughed up the dough. Form is temporary, class is permanent. He will bounce back and we need him.
Maignan on the other hand, has been injured far too often. He is more of a gamble and goalkeepers are easier to replace.
Keep Sottil.
I love/hate Theo. He’s world class. hate to see him playing for someone else. But we don’t need a self-absorbed captain.
Each time I read about walker I cringe at the conclusion, walkers time in Milan has more impact compared to what Emerson Royal has and can do, the disrespect is just too much. Not to forget Bayern Munich was willing to pay 40mill last summer mercato.
I don’t even think he’d want to stay same way Morata left.
It’s a long list to sort out. Particularly when you also add players currently out on loan to resolve. Adli, Bennacer, Pobega, Saelemaekers, CDK, Okafor.
Players with long contracts likely to need moving on. Royal, Chukwueze, Musah.
And our old maestro Origi.
You write about the players that milan will not need next season BUT MADE A VERY IMPORTANT OMISSION.
WHEN IS FURLANI THAT INCOMPETENT CLOWN GOING TO BE KICKED AWAY FROM MILAN? HE IS SURELY THE ONE WHO MOST NEEDS TO DISAPPEAR AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.