AC Milan’s January transfer window ended up closing with just one arrival in goalkeeper Devis Vasquez, which has left some big question marks.
MilanNews recall that the notion of ‘sustainability’ was already already explicitly and implicitly announced in the early part of the window, with Paolo Maldini even confirming that there would be no new signings, unless opportunities emerged that were too good to turn out.
One of these opportunities could have been Nicolò Zaniolo, for whom the Rossoneri went as far as a loan with option to buy for a total of €22m, but Roma were not willing to accept. A move was also made late in the window for Dario Osorio of Club Universidad de Chile as a signing for the future, but again a deal did not get over the line.
“We are not the Milan of the nineties that signs the great champions already established, but we need to follow a strategy that has led us to settle the club’s accounts and to be protagonists. We will certainly not deviate from that,” Maldini said to DAZN earlier in the month.
The problem is that a so far disappointing summer transfer market was followed by an empty winter mercato and Milan needed reinforcements immediately such as a reliable deputy to Mike Maignan, a right winger to upgrade on Junior Messias and Alexis Saelemaekers and a midfielder to help Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer catch their breath, especially now the Algerian is injured.
Moreover, the squad is missing an experienced central defender more physically reliable that Simon Kjaer, as well as a deputy to Theo Hernandez and a centre-forward who guarantees goals but above all appearances.
However, with the presence of 31 players in the squad, this does not allow for large movements and there were never likely to be any big sales, so in the end Stefano Pioli must stick with what he has.
