Eight players returning to base: The Milan mercato sub-plot Igli Tare must work on

Igli Tare has had a very busy first couple of weeks as AC Milan’s new sporting director, with so many issues to tackle simultaneously.

Tare has had, quite frankly, a lot of messes to clean up. The first major move he made was to bring back Massimiliano Allegri as the head coach, which it seems has given him a right-hand man to consult on squad construction.

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However, there has been plenty of ‘dirty work’ to do too. In addition to the sale of Tijjani Reijnders for Manchester City – which did not delight the fan base – the Albanian has had to try fight the Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan fires out, given both seem to want to leave.

Then there is the incoming business that the Rossoneri want to do: the media headlines are dominated by the pursuit of a top centre-forward to guarantee goals, and of course the post-Reijnders midfield.

One thing that has gone under the radar though is the swathe of players returning from loans, facing uncertain fates as either pawns to further raise the budget or potentially useful pieces in Allegri and Tare’s chessboard. We have broken down the cases to tackle.

Devis Vasquez

Vasquez is a bit of a mystery man when it comes to Milan’s recent past. He arrived from Guarani in South America as an unknown quantity, and was sent to Empoli on loan after previous spells away from San Siro.

According to what is being reported by Matteo Moretto some time ago, the option to buy inserted in the operation states that Empoli can buy the goalkeeper from Milan for just €900k, with no buy-back. However, their relegation to Serie B seems to have put a lot of things on hold.

Vasquez got a lot of recognition for a Player of the Match display against Juventus earlier in the campaign, and the feeling is that he will return to base and get a move to another top-flight club, probably for a low fee.

🏆📹 Devis Vasquez, il Panini Player Of The Match di #EmpoliJuve! pic.twitter.com/6C22oVJOM0

— Empoli Football Club Official (@EmpoliFC) September 15, 2024

Lorenzo Colombo

Another player sent to Empoli on loan with an option to buy ahead of the 2024-25 season was Colombo, while Milan also added a buy-back this time to maintain control over the young striker.

However, although he wasn’t terrible with seven goals and two assists, the Tuscan side have decided not to buy him given the relegation to Serie B and the €7m expense that would have been required.

Colombo will thus return to Milan but the Italian not expected to remain a part of the first-team squad for next season. Indeed, the likes of Cremonese, Genoa, Pisa and Torino have already asked the Rossoneri for information on the youngster, per reports.

The question this time is if another loan suits anyone, or if it makes more sense for Colombo to take a leap with both feet into a new adventure in his young career.

Tommaso Pobega

Pobega left Milan last summer on a season-long loan with an option to buy at €12m. The 25-year-old made 30 appearances this past season, including 20 minutes in the Coppa Italia final, and bagged seven goal contributions in the process.

It has gone a bit quiet on the future of the academy graduate, but the latest from Corriere dello Sport stated Bologna would like to keep Pobega if they can get a discount on the option to buy. In spite of the disagreements on the price, everything is pointing towards a permanent stay, it seems.

The exact figure to reach a handshake remains unknown but it is also worth noting it would be a pure capital gain for Milan. However, what cannot be ruled out is that Allegri takes a look at him in preseason, given his previous love for midfield ‘raiders’ with size, like Adrien Rabiot.

Just as with Colombo, if Pobega were not deemed good enough to be part of the plans, it makes sense for him to leave on a permanent deal at this stage of his career, but possibly with a buy-back of sorts included.

Yacine Adli

The decision was taken by the Milan management to let Adli leave last summer to join Fiorentina on a season-long loan with an option to buy (sound familiar?). It was an up and down campaign but he ended with five goals and seven assists across all competitions – far from a bad return.

La Viola’s sporting director Daniele Pradè removed all of that doubt in a post-season press conference recently as he confirmed that the buy-out option for Adli will not be used, and that he will therefore return to Milan.

Then, Napoli were linked with a surprise swoop for the former Bordeaux man, just as Torino were mentioned as a destination given the interest in Samuele Ricci. Adli has made no secret of his attachment to Milan and will probably fight for a spot under Allegri, even if at present a sale makes more sense.

Alexis Saelemaekers

Saelemaekers had a season of two halves on loan at Roma. He struggled until the arrival of Claudio Ranieri, then turned into one of the best wing-backs in the league, racking up 14 goal contributions (seven goals, seven assists).

Roma wanted to make it a permanent deal for this reason, and yet the talks ended abruptly a couple of weeks ago. The Belgian could stay with Milan next season, with Allegri taking an interest in him and keen to make assessments during pre-season.

What role he will play remains to be seen. However, a ‘wild card’ situation is currently in mind given the work rate and versatility he possesses. Saelemaekers could have use in a 4-2-3-1, a 4-3-3, a 3-5-2 or just about every system. He could be one of the stars of next season under the new coach.

Noah Okafor 

Okafor started the season as the deputy for Rafael Leao, scoring an important goal in the first game against Torino. Aside from a couple of assists, however, that’s all he achieved during the first half of the season and Milan thus decided to send him out on loan in January to Napoli.

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport – among other sources – a permanent move to Napoli appears very unrealistic, especially since the buy-out clause is set at €23.5m. It’s a sizeable amount for a player who has had many injuries, while also only really impressing as a super-sub.

With the Swiss international set to return, Milan will have to find a new solution in the summer as they have no intention of keeping the player, per reports. It was claimed that he was offered to Flamengo in a swap deal for Wesley, though as of right now predicting his destination feels like a very difficult task.

Ismael Bennacer

After being linked with a move there last summer, Bennacer was allowed to join Marseille on a six-month loan deal with an option to buy right at the end of the winter transfer window. However, he struggled to play regularly and thus there have been strong doubts about the buy-out.

From widespread reports in Italy and in France, it seems Marseille are not willing to pay the €12m to make the move permanent. This opens up new scenarios, given that Milan will get back full control of the player once the option expires.

Fiorentina will soon welcome back Stefano Pioli as their head coach and there have been suggestions he could look to reunite with Bennacer, while the idea of going back to Marseille on a new one-year loan has been mentioned, but this almost certainly will not convince Milan.

There was talk of Milan being irritated by Bennacer’s decision to try and force an exit right at the end of the window. It remains to be seen how much of the bridge he burned by doing so (if true), though in the meantime it doesn’t feel beyond the realms of possibility for Allegri to assess him in preseason, given his love of pitbull-like midfielders such as Arturo Vidal.

Kevin Zeroli

Zeroli – like other players in the system – was tipped to spend most of the year with Milan Futuro. However, difficulties were encountered and he failed to really make an impact in the ‘B-team’ in the first six months of the year.

So, when Monza came calling, the directors decided it was the right move to loan Zeroli out at the end of the January mercato on a six-month loan deal. It was only ever a dry loan, and to a team that were relegated without much of a fight, but he had some bright moments.

At present it feels certain that a new loan will be sought for Zeroli, given he is still just 20 years of age and is rated very highly, even in youth international circles. Juventus were mentioned as being interested, though that feels like a pipe dream given what losing a talent to a big rival would mean.