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.