The primary focus this summer for AC Milan has been on bringing new players in, but the sale of Pierre Kalulu came, to some extent, out of nowhere.
The French defender had a tough 2023/24 which was dominated by injuries but the general belief was that he would be a part of Paulo Fonseca’s squad. Fast-forward to later August and he is now on loan at Juventus with the move expected to become permanent next summer.
As reported by Milan News, there are a number of minor reasons that cumulatively have led to Kalulu and Milan parting ways this summer.
One issue is that Kalulu’s position at Milan was never really finalised. He could play at centre-back, he often played at right-back, and left-back was not unheard of. Versatility is great but it was not clear where Kalulu played best.
Injuries were perhaps the main problem for Kalulu, as he ended up missing a huge 32 games during 2023/24. A season like that is enough to put almost any player in the shop window.
A final problem, that isn’t Kalulu’s fault, is that he does nothing for the registration rules as he is not from the academy and is not Italian. This is something Milan have a problem with so he is less valuable in that respect.
I think it was a bad decision to sell him. It may well be that he was injured and out of action for 32 games last season. Milan conceded a lot of goals without him and in my point of view is that there were other defensive players who were partly to blame for that which should probably be sold before Kalulu. It may well be that there were no other clubs interested in the others defensive players. I feel he has the potential to be one of the best. He can play both as a CB, LB & RB. It’s luxurious to have a player like that. A good move for Juventus.
He doesn’t make the lists for UCL or Serie A squads.
Keeping him here makes no sense as you would be paying 2M wages for a player who cannot even come onto the field to play, even in an injury crisis.
“Injuries were perhaps the main problem for Kalulu, as he ended up missing a huge 32 games..”
That’s not Kalulu’s fault either, that’s frickin egghead’s fault!
Not his fault, but the reason why to sell him
While I did like him, he never really proved to be a starting option I either center ir right. And he’s injury prone enough to make you tear your hair out. Probably the overall best choice to sell. It also frees up more wages so the owners have no excuses not to buy if needed