AC Milan are still looking for a central defender to add to their squad in January, and the option of a return for Thiago Silva has been mentioned again.
Milan are playing with three centre-backs in a 3-5-2 system at present, with Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic as the established starting trio. Koni De Winter is the only real back-up, with David Odogu inexperienced and possibly heading out on loan in January.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
13 years later…
According to today’s edition of La Repubblica (via MilanPress), the possibility of a move for Thiago Silva seems to be gaining more and more momentum with each passing day.
There’s been a debate within the club for a few weeks, and lately the current calling for Thiago’s return has been gaining traction. The idea is to offer the player – who has an agreement with Fluminense to be released for free at the end of December – a six-month deal, therefore until the end of the season.
In addition to his never-hidden love for Milan, there are two things that could push for his return: Massimiliano Allegri, with whom Thiago Silva has a special relationship, and his family, who have lived in London for years.
Returning to Europe would also help the 40-year-old a lot with a view to the 2026 World Cup. Six months of playing in the Italian league could convince Carlo Ancelotti to call him up, a coach who always keeps an eye on Milan as well.
6 month contract, they can’t go wrong. I’m sure he’d pay for free if necessary. We need one more central defender and there is no point in going big in January. After the season is finished they can evaluate again.
*play
I don’t think it’s a good idea.
If he wants to play in the World Cup, he won’t sign unless we agree to let him play.
That’s stopping our players’ development for 6 months.
I think just like Ricci and Jashari will be thankful for learning under Modric, so will our backline with T.Silva. they still lack something
This is the same scenario as signing Ramos. They’ll be a both want to make World Cup teams. They both need a lot of playing time immediately to get noticed by the National Team coaches. We don’t need a replacement for Gabbia. He’s better than either one of them right now. We need a backup who’s not going to cause drama if he’s on the bench
Silva at 40 is better than any CB we currently have. I saw him playing in the club world cup this past summer and he looked as good as ever. One of the best players in the tournament.
The way Milan defend, Silva won’t need the pace to close down attacking players. Hopefully his sense of positioning is still great, especially on set pieces. 6mo stint seems reasonable.