Matteo Moretto has revealed some of the background on AC Milan’s attempt to sign Pietro Comuzzo, before turning to Koni De Winter.
When news broke on Saturday that Malick Thiaw was all set to join Newcastle United in an operation worth €40m including bonuses, the management instantly started looking for replacements. Giovanni Leoni of Parma and Comuzzo were the main names instantly linked.
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However, in the end it was a blitz for De Winter that ended up happening on Sunday. Within 24 hours, the Rossoneri closed a €20m operation for the Belgian, who Massimiliano Allegri knows well from his time in the Juventus youth sector.
From Comuzzo to De Winter
Moretto spoke in a video published on Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube channel about the De Winter operation, revealing that the Viola man did indeed seem to be the priority target.
“Malick Thiaw has already flown to England to undergo his medical with Newcastle. Milan immediately got to work to find the German’s replacement. One of the first to be contacted was Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo, who was seen in via Aldo Rossi as the right profile for the Diavolo,” he said (via MilanNews).
“However, on Sunday the Rossoneri made some internal evaluations on the Comuzzo operation, which was deemed a bit too expensive. And so the Rossoneri switched to the De Winter alternative.
“Within a few hours this deal was closed, a verbal agreement with Genoa for a total of 20 million euros, with bonuses included that are easily achievable. The player is ready with a contract worth 1.7 million euros net per season.
“We remind you that 15% of this operation will go to Juventus, who had a percentage on the future resale. To fully finalise the De Winter deal, all that’s missing is the exchange of documents, expected in the next few hours, and then the player will have the green light to travel to Milan for his medical.
“Everything’s done, however, and De Winter will soon be a new Milan player. Will Milan look for another central defender? So far, the indications we have are that Milan won’t be looking for another central defender, and therefore, with De Winter, the defence is complete.”
No complaints from me. I know some deluded Milan fans only want Italians, so they want Leoni for 40m after just 17 games (which is stupid), but Tare has done a good job here. 40m for Thiaw and spent half of it on someone who’s a year younger. I just worry about only having 4 CBs currently.
not deluded we just need them for next year… not that complicated; 4 home grown + 4 league grown
we have Ricci, Terracianno and Gabbia… now true that we have de Winter, but we still need more to have as big of a squad as possible for registration
Jimenez, Barte, Torriani, Camarda won’t be in A list until 2028…
I get the registration point, but I still think overpaying for Leoni or Comuzzo right now would be a mistake. We can fill those spots with cheaper, more proven depth options instead of spending 40m on a kid with half a season’s experience. De Winter for €20m is smart business, and we still have flexibility to add an Italian CB later if needed – ideally without breaking the bank.
agreed. And Winter qualifies as homegrown a well having played for Juve’s youth teams
no I don’t question de Winter, it is a smart buy… 20M including bonuses is a steal (in under 24 hours), when he can also play CDM, RB and RM…
Is tall, strong and solid for sure and goes into league grown category…
next year, Comuzzo or Leoni + Modric replacement will be all that we need (if no one suddenly does Bennacer and becomes completely useless).
but inter buying bastoni for 31m at 17 isnt. great business strategy ?. just admit you are willing to sacrifice quality for price . nothing wrong with buying leoni as well as winter . its not like pavolic nor tomori nor gabbia are quality defenders or will fetch us a profit in the transfer market . thaw is simply the only one who can fetch us a decent amount . so whats the point.
The “A list” is a thing in european competitons. For Serie A Bondo and Jimenez qualify for u21. We will have no registration problems for this year.
Coubis also CB and dont forget bertesaghi can play CB too. Thats make 6 CB in total for just play in serie A & coppa this season. I would prefer ACM develop their youth product like coubis than buying over price 40m euro leoni
Terraciano is gone to Cremonese on a loan with obligation.
So last summer, Juventus sold 2 defenders from their youth teams , Huijsen and De Winter, and replaced them with Lloyd Kelly and Kalulu. A year later Huijsen and De Winter are Real Madrid and Milan players.
Giuntoli was terrible director at Juventus.
Rovella and Fagioli were also sold for nothing, and same with Savona now
Juve had and still has financial problems. They need to sell. We should take Savona RB from them.
They spent big on Douglas Luiz who didn’t fit into their system also.
If what Moretto says is true, I am worried. We are going to play with a back three, an only have four centre-backs! And what is more, we sorely need a player that can LEAD the defensive line, and not look like confused headless chickens like Tomori and Pavlovic.
Good deal. One CB out, one in. And for less $ and probably we lose nothing in terms of ability.