A striker might not be AC Milan’s final signing of the summer, because a central defender could arrive to complete the rearguard.
As Corriere dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, the imminent acquisition of Victor Boniface won’t be an instant financial burden for Milan because Igli Tare has managed to defer the payment to next year, if indeed the €30m option to buy is used.
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Thus, the sporting director still has a small ‘nest egg’ set aside this summer to try and acquire players useful to Massimiliano Allegri’s tactical plan. Some of these could be late opportunities, particularly in defence.
One more centre-back?
The regular use of a three-man defence to this point by Allegri means that Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic and Koni De Winter might not be enough. Zachary Athekame and Davide Bartesaghi are there too, but they are more full-backs.
It’s therefore not out of the question that Tare could intervene during the final ten days of the transfer window to strengthen the defence. Among the names being pursued is Caleb Okoli, a 24-year-old Italian currently playing for Leicester City in the English Serie B, with a value of €10-15m.
More experienced players could also be considered: Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae – who was explored in early June – has a salary too high for Serie A (€8m net per year), while there are some doubts about Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen’s fitness.
Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior is popular at Milan, but the Gunners have not yet agreed to a sale. A ‘sure bet’ is Berat Djimsiti of Atalanta, an experienced player who knows the league and has become accustomed to various positions in the three-man defence.
Kiwior is the best choice. Young, solid, can play multiple roles, has serie a experience. He would be good signing.
Agreed – Kiwior
Lucumi and Kiwior are the best options for us atm. Kiwior is 4th choice and can be bought for good price, while Lucumi is in his final year and can easily play anywhere in back 3…
With the current members, Djimsiti is the most suitable. We need an experienced player that could be a backup / rotation option for everyone.
Lucumi is available for 28!!
28M for the guy whose contract gonna run out in 2026?!
nah we can settle for way less… but currently lack of interest from our side… we gifted them Pobega for pennies. 20M + bonuses should be more than fair
Anyone who rates Pobega doesn’t have an eye for talent
idc about his talent… they got 80-90M and were begging for 2-3M discount. they are still in 60-70M positive
Berat Djimsiti is a plausible option
I would be worried about our full backs.no backup if they get injured
I would be worried about our full backs.no backup if they get injured
Buy Josip Stanisic , good on RB and CB
Djimsiti is experienced enough to pull of the Simon Kjaer role. Which is exactly what we are missing. Not to mention he’s a lot more reliable than both Tomori and Pavlovic. Kiwior is also a good option. Both would be bargains at this point with little resistance from their clubs in terms of getting the deal done.
Christensen offers leadership Kjaer style, just saying, but Kiwior would also be excellent.
I read somewhere that Aymeric Laporte was going to terminate his contract in Saudi and that Como was interested. I think that would be an excellent option if the salary demands aren’t astronomical.
And if he actually rescinds ofcourse.
No too Kiwior he is not good enough! Why take Arsenals leftovers!
I like Djimsiti, and have expressed support for signing him, but I really think we should take Kiwior.
Left overs? Like Pulisic was for Chelsea?
Kiwior is a fine player and a great defender. Arsenal are insane for not trying to keep him. He was key to Arsenal having the best defensive record in the league last season.