AC Milan announced their first signing a few days ago, with Alvaro Morata joining the club, and more signings are expected shortly. As highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, the business this summer could lead to four new starters.
Morata’s arrival was announced on Friday after Zlatan Ibrahimovic managed to convince the Spaniard. He will be the starting striker this season, as highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), while a deputy could also arrive later in the summer.
In addition to Morata, Milan are also closing in on the signings of Strahinja Pavlovic and Youssouf Fofana. Both negotiations are advanced and could be closed as early as next week, hopefully before the Rossoneri leave for the US tour.
Lazar Samardzic has also been linked with the Rossoneri in the last few days, with the Udinese man reportedly ‘keen’ on joining the club. In short, more movement is expected on the mercato and it could be a Milan with some key improvements to the starting XI (compared to last season).
Thoughts on the XI? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to try out our Substack for 7 days if you want access to the SempreMilan group chat!
Loftus-Cheek on the bench? I don’t think so.
Loftus Cheek is not an AM. He never was and he never will be. Other than physicality and a handfull of goals he offers nothing. We need someone technical in the role of AM. Someone who is able to dictate the tempo. Someone who isnt clueless – someone technical.
RLC is better used deeper in midfield perhaps as a box to box midfielder like Bennacer
So Samardzic is a playmaker? Because from what I understand he’s a CM, more precisely a mezzala. So we’d being playing yet another player out of position as a trequartista/playmaker. The Samardzic signing only makes sense if we’re playing 4-3-3. If we’re sticking to 4-2-3-, I much rather save the money on Samardzic, and use it to guarantee getting Fofana and Pavlovic, while either continuing with RLC as AM, or moving Puli to AM, making Chuk the starter at RW, and keeping Salad or Maldini as backup RW.
RLC has never played as a box to box midfielder. He has had injuries which impacted his fitness. It was a big story last preseason that he was not able to get fit…the story disappeared but he never got fit, they just had to put him somewhere where he wouldn’t have to move too much…he is not a mobile player which makes his defense really not very good…he was slow to react in the press. hopefully using him in a rotation can keep him away from injury but I think people have this idea that he’s good in a pivot and I’d challenge that idea…reijnders I suspect is the favorite to get the spot at the 10. But as everyone has said. When you play a fast pace game you need to rotate midfielders.
RLC has played the box to box role under Conte and Sarri at times (ofcourse as a sub) plus a dm role at Chelsea many times and Samardzic is a CM but has played behind the strikers many times.
RLC has mostly always been a sub player at Chelsea and covered for any missing links in midfield. Im not saying he shouldnt start but im saying his physicality can be used in a deeper role. Just dont agree with how Pioli was using him
yeah I agree with all of that…I meant to say he has played 90 minutes as a box-to-box at least not consistently. I think he is a great player to bring off the bench for different roles. I just worry about his movement. He was pretty slow to react in the press. I am thinking that Fonseca sees Reijnders as the 10 but that’s just a guess based on his insistence on pushing up the fullbacks and really playing the cbs and double pivot as the deepest defenders.
The way they planning to build the squad this season I doubt there will be a fixed starting xi . 50+ games – regular rotation is key – and not like how Pioli used to butcher it.
21-22 outfield players who are all good enough to start is the way to go. – to increase efficiency and to minimize injuries.
Agreed. They want two good players on each position this season-
Leao(Okafor)-Morata(Fullkrug)-Pulisic(Chuckwueze)
Samardzic(Loftus-Cheek)
Reijnders(Bennacer)-Fofana(Musah)
Hernandez(Terraciano)-Pavlovic(Thiaw)-Tomori(Gabbia)-Calabria(Kalulu)
Maignan(Sportiello)
Then 4 out of Jovic, Pobega, Adli, Florenzi, Saelsmaekers will be sold (or loaned out).
Maldini, Colombo loaned out too.
23 man squad with an extra goalkeeper to register if needed
Love this. And love the idea of a consistent rotation. Great lineup
I think you are on to something, and out beloved club as well.
It makes sense with 50 + matches during the season to have (fierce) competition between two players for each position, and a few that can cover several positions.
Comparison:
Leao(Roberto Baggio)-Morata(George Weah)-Pulisic(Gianluigi Lentini)
Samardzic(Dejan Savicevic)
Reijnders(Massimo Ambrosini)-Fofana(Patrick Vieira)
Hernandez(Paolo Maldini)-Pavlovic(Alessandro Costacurta)-Tomori(Marcel Desailly)-Calabria(Christian Panuci)
Maignan(Sebastiano Rossi)
Samardzic and Aldi
Loftus cheek and fofana
Good point bro
The way RLC was used by Pioli and his lack of experience in that role contributed greatly to our midfield been constantly overrun. It’s better we sign a true AM or use Pulisic in that role than RCL been used wrongly and his strength wasted and the team suffering for it.
Sale tomori,partner thiaw and pavlovic.
Play kalulu as RB
Guardiola
Definetly Ancelotti heir.
Bro you lost your mind or something. Thiaw is garbage CB. He loses so many battles. Tomori is far better than Thiaw. With time he will shine again as he did in 21-22 season.
If this happens, Calabria is the only weak spot.
Either put Kalulu there or buy another right back.
Calabria still playing
Tomori still playing
Midfield unconvincing with Reijnders who is not good enough to play in a pivot and Fofana who is a typical black bulldog DM with no technical qualities
Samardzic is another Krunic
Leao is a fraud who rarely scores and will probably fail again
Banter line-up
Really wish we would drop this Ngubu 4-2-3-1 formation and go back to our 2 striker line-up roots like 4-3-1-2
Reijnders would be much better as a mezzala and we could have this Fofana playing like Gattuso/Kante and buy a Pirlo-style or Van Bommel-style player(or a synthesis of both) for the middle
Drop useless winger, sell Leao for 100m and that useless Chukchiken, have Pulisic partner Morata upfront and buy a proper trequartista
Don’t forget we still have Saladmaker, Maldini Jr, Oroghi, Bolo Tore, Colombos, Slowbega, etc
This awful formation is making us overstock on useless wingers
Daniel could be a good LB, a vice-Theo and could have some value as a utility player in midfield and other positions
The rest are useless
Where is camarada.
Camarda is better for MORATA
100% agree!
2 strikers upfront is better for morata.
I’m tired of leao and chukz running magic shop on the wings, pulling rabbit out of every defender.
This fonseca’s milan will be no different than pioli’s version. Look at the game yesterday, nothing’s changed. It will only be worse after leao join the team.
For me, saele+maldini should stay.
They are both getting better after loan spell.
Pobega+kalulu+thiaw can go elswhere. Even florenzi the old rottweiler can bite harder than those 3.
I don’t see a proper trequartista nowadays..
This modern football has destroyed that position back when they invented 4231.
But for sure it is not pulisic/RLC/reijnders.
We need kaka type of player, and it is damn hard today.
I mean even without Morata, playing as a lone striker is really hard to do for most players
This is why hardly any good strikers exist nowadays
After 4-2-3-1 was popularized in 2010 WC, the position started declining
In 4-2-3-1 the wingers always have to defend a lot too so they get tired, and the fullbacks aren’t allowed to attack as much and you have midfield inferiority in numbers and you have few world class midfielders who can efficiently play a pivot.
Griezmann would be great for CAM, although he has only played CAM on a 4-2-3-1 and not sure if he would work on a 4-3-1-2, might be too lightweight for it(like Robinho in Allegri days)
For the system we currently play he would be really good but this management is cheap
There are some players who may have the skill as CAM on a 4-3-1-2 system out there but they don’t get to play it
After all a CAM on a 4-2-3-1 system is more like an extra CM instead of a proper Trequartista since he’s mostly there to spread the play to the wingers which is boring
4-2-3-1 is kind of a variation of 4-3-3 in the end
One Italian?!
Who’s left in deffence? We need strong reinforcements there and a good RB. Out of Hernandez we don’t have any world-class defender.
Every time there’s an article about “potential” line-ups, all you see is new or rumored players thrown onto a starting 11 on paper without any though process. Like frosting on a cake.
utterly useless…..
4231 without lazar can be done too. GK : Maignan ( Sportielo ) . LB : Theo ( Jimenez ) . RB : Calabria ( kalulu) . CB : Tomori – Gabbia ( Thiaw – Pavlovic) . Double pivot : Tiji-Fofana ( RLC – Yunus Musah) . LW : Leao ( Okafor) . RW : Puli( Samu chukwu) . AMF :Benna ( Adili) . CF : Morata ( Jovic) . Lazar can coming only if benna out & pobega out. I assume Florenzi will be out too while terraciano using as new krunic that multi position
433:
Maignan
Calabria-Tomori-Pavlovic-Hernandez
Reijnders-Amrabat(Fofana realisticly)-Benny
Pulisic-Morata-Leao
I don’t mind the 4231 but will need a complete set of midfield as the team have no proper pivots and no proper attacking midfielders aside Pulisic and I don’t feel Chuc has shown enough to be already trusted as a starter.
Mike kalulu tomori pav Theo musah fofana pulisic reijnders leao morata