One certainty and three unknowns: Milan’s centre-back options for 2025-26

Many changes are expected for the 2025-26 season, from the head coach to the sporting director, but the centre-back situation remains uncertain at Milan. Currently having four starters, how should they approach it?

Milan have gone from strength to strength on the centre-back front in recent years. It might sound like a strange statement given the form of someone like Fikayo Tomori last season, for example, but there’s no denying that having four potential starters hasn’t been common for the Rossoneri.

Numerically speaking, Milan have obviously had that before but in terms of form and quality, we cannot say the same. In the Scudetto season, for example, Simon Kjaer and Alessio Romagnoli were injured a lot while Fikayo Tomori and Pierre Kalulu broke through.

In 2022-23, Malick Thiaw grew into the role with Fikayo Tomori while Kjaer had to manage his physical condition, and Kalulu struggled to replicate the Scudetto spike. The point is that there was never really any time when Milan had four centre-backs to choose between.

At the time of writing, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic, Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori are all injury-free and in decent form. It has forced Conceucao to make some tough decisions and it will get even tougher for the management in the summer, so what will it be?

Gabbia and the Italy factor

In my mind, there is really only one certainty when assessing Milan’s centre-back situation for next season: Gabbia. The Italian benefits from his nationality in the sense that the Rossoneri need him for the squad lists, and he has actually been very good since the Villarreal return as well.

The mistake in Zagreb was unfortunate and costly, but it’s also one of the few mistakes that we have seen from him in the red and black shirt. Consistency has indeed been his main strength and while there is a lot of room for improvement still, it’s a no-brainer to keep him.

The squad list factor aside, he came through the youth ranks of Milan and thus knows what it means to play for the club. He has regularly spoken to the media after tough defeats and he always has good things to say, while he has no issues with sitting on the bench for a few games.

He’s one that Milan absolutely must keep hold of especially in light of recent discussions, with the media and sources within the club suggesting an ‘Italianisation’ is needed to get the project back on track. The salary is also very low, so there are really only pros with the 25-year-old.

New head coach and mercato opportunities

For the remaining three centre-backs, a lot will depend on the new sporting director and the new head coach, that much is clear. If you will allow me to speculate, though, I would say that in addition to Gabbia, Milan should keep hold of Thiaw.

The German has had his fair share of struggles since arriving from Schalke 04, but there is great potential and he has already shown what he can do on a good day. He has the size, he has the pace and above all, he has fantastic passing for the build-up phase.

Now, if a big offer were to arrive for him in the summer, Milan should obviously consider it as a significant profit can be made. But then it really has to be a hefty offer, because letting go of him at this stage – when he’s close to finding consistency – would be a poor decision.

Moving on to Pavlovic, his resurgence in the last few months is commendable and I’m convinced that with a little bit of work, above all on the aggression, he can become a very good centre-back. That being said, he has to suit the next manager’s needs otherwise the Serbian could be on the bench again as we saw under Fonseca.

Recovering the investment, or even making a profit, shouldn’t be a problem in the summer but similarly to Thiaw, there is additional quality to tap into (so he could be sold for a lot more in a few years).

Finally, Tomori is perhaps the most divisive player among the fanbase as some have been asking for his sale for a long time, while others cannot understand why he isn’t playing regularly. The answer in this case, at least if the new manager wants a certain centre-back to be signed this summer, is that the Englishman is the easiest to sell.

He has been at the club since January 2021 and, in other words, he has had by far the most time to reach his potential and gain consistency. Granted that it hasn’t been easy with the managerial changes and turmoil surrounding Milan, he has been far too inconsistent overall.

There is a market for him as well, with Premier League teams keeping a close eye on the developments, and perhaps it would even benefit both parties to call it a day. That being said, we shouldn’t take anything away from Tomori as a player, given he is of high quality.

Status quo would have its perks

Having said all of the above, are changes really necessary for Milan? Yes in terms of changing the head coach (perhaps) and definitely when it comes to hiring a new sporting director, but the situation is not as clear-cut on the centre-back front.

Provided the quartet would be happy with such a solution, it could actually benefit the Rossoneri to keep them all and start again with a new manager. There are many games each season and the same pairing cannot play every time, even if some would like to argue that having four starters is excessive.

In the long run, it will definitely be necessary to have four competent centre-backs as injuries and suspensions will always be part of the game. Not to mention that competing on three fronts, sometimes four if you also have Supercoppa, is incredibly demanding for a team.

Keeping the current players, as such, might not be a bad idea as Milan would have more time to focus on other positions that need fixing more. Again, everything will depend on the manager who might want a specific centre-back signed, but it’s impossible to say now.

It should also be highlighted that money talks and a hefty offer this summer, both for club and player, could result in some changes in the heart of the defence. Tomori still seems to be the most likely one in that sense, with Tuttosport reporting just this morning that an exit is likely.