Journalist Franco Ordine has praised AC Milan’s directors for the work they were able to do in the summer transfer window, which has allowed them to ‘complete last year’s squad’.
Milan welcomed five signings during the summer transfer window: Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid, Strahinja Pavlovic from Red Bull Salzburg, Emerson Royal from Spurs, Youssouf Fofana from Monaco and Tammy Abraham from AS Roma.
The first four were permanent deals done for between €13m and €20m plus bonuses, which is very much the sweet spot that this management and ownership have established in terms of – in CEO Giorgio Furlani’s own words – finding value with transfer fees paid.
The overall squad cost has gone up by €20m when factoring in the transfer fees amortisation and gross salaries added minus the costs saved for those who have left, yet it remains quite substantially behind that of Inter and Juventus.
Ordine spoke during his weekly column for MilanNews and amid all of the negativity surrounding the management and their decisions, he provided a more positive outlook on the summer business.
“I can also make a couple of reflections. The first: I am convinced that the market has completed last year’s squad with some distinctions,” he began.
“In attack, the arrival of the Englishman has certainly strengthened the role of centre forward, Fofana has plugged the hole of the containment midfielder, Pavlovic was – at least for me – a discovery, Morata does not need adjectives while Emerson Royal seems to me to be the weak link in the chain.
“The coach himself defined him as ‘even more attacking than Calabria’ and then we need to rethink his use if we are looking for tactical balance. But it is the overall system that needs to be reworked because against Lazio in the first half Milan was very buttoned up, in the second too forward-looking.
“It is up to Fonseca to rebalance the set-up like you do with car tires. Another reflection: Bennacer must be recovered at all costs because he could be useful as soon as the three weekly matches begin.”