The rumours about AC Milan signing Mario Gila will not go away, and the management even know how much they would like to spend.
According to Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews), Gila is certainly high on Igli Tare and Milan’s list for the summer, when they will look to sign another central defender to ensure that the level of the department remains high.
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In the winter window that has just closed, Milan were more looking for opportunities to welcome a defender on loan, due to only being in league action between now and June, and also because of the growth of Koni De Winter.
A plan for the summer
However, as the weeks pass by, it is looking almost certain that Milan will be back in European competitions next season, and hopefully the Champions League. Thus, with three starting centre-backs in Allegri’s system, the ideal is to have five dependable options.
For this reason, work has already begun on Mario Gila. Specifically, the Rossoneri are in contact with the player’s agents. Gila has a contract with Lazio until 2027, which he has already announced he does not wish to renew.
There is a verbal agreement over a five-year deal, but then negotiations will have to switch to the Biancocelesti. Milan want to pay €15-18m, but Lazio will have to give 50% of the sum to Real Madrid because of their resale clause.
A forward-passing CB with short, mid, and long-range passing ability from the center makes him ideal. He is also 25-26 years old. He has been in the league for years, and he is cheap. He is fast and not rash when he makes a challenge; he is also a vocal CB. The downside is that he is 6’1″, which means he isn’t tall enough to deal with aerial duels, and he has one or two bad challenges in him. The biggest drawback is his height.
Lucumi from Bologna is better. He is taller, quick, left-footed, stronger, has been in the league, and has won a title; he is good in his challenges, he wins a lot of aerial duels, and he has a good passing range like Gila. If I am not mistaken, his only drawback is that he will be 28 this year and he has had muscle strain issues. Not too bad, but it will probably mean he will become a liability in the long run.
I think if you get Lucumi for 10-14M, Milan should go for him and Gila for 18M. Push Gila as one of the two CBs if the team goes into a back 4; in the case of a back 3, Lucumi is better as the center. Gila can even probably sit in the number 6 position given his passing and ball-carrying ability, plus Spain doesn’t call him up. So, there is less football demand on Gila compared to Lucumi, which means less wear and tear.
One CB is a good addition. I don’t think our defence suffers that much that we have to remove one of the starters.
Great news. We need someone like him, who has this pretty vast experience in the domestic league under his belt.
Rubbish talk