Home » Reports: Milan evaluating Comuzzo, De Winter and Leoni for post-Thiaw era
Comuzzo, De Winter and Leoni

Reports: Milan evaluating Comuzzo, De Winter and Leoni for post-Thiaw era

Photos by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images, Simone Arveda/Getty Images and Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

AC Milan have drawn up a shortlist for the centre-back spot, keeping three players under observation, as they need to find a replacement for Malick Thiaw who is now Newcastle-bound. 

An agreement has been reached between Milan and Newcastle for a deal worth €40m, with Thiaw set to undergo his medical tests tonight or early tomorrow. In short, the German defender has practically already left the Rossoneri and now, a replacement needs to be found.


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Giovanni Leoni (Parma) and Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina) have been linked with the club before and there is concrete interest, especially in the former. However, according to Antonio Vitiello, Milan are also keeping tabs on another name.

Three names eyed

Indeed, Genoa’s Koni De Winter is also on Milan’s shortlist for the position. While he’s young like the others at 23 years old, and clearly has a lot of potential, he wouldn’t help so much with the squad lists as he’s Belgian.

Koni De Winter of Genoa
Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images

Leoni and Comuzzo, as such, appear to be the top two names for the Rossoneri. According to Gianluca Di Marzio (via MilanEye), the Parma man has a price tag of at least €30m while the Fiorentina man is valued at around €25m.

The next few days will tell us a lot about which player is the priority as Milan need to move quickly on this, with the season scheduled to start next weekend.

Tags AC Milan Giovanni Leoni Koni De Winter Malick Thiaw Pietro Comuzzo

88 Comments

  1. I don’t care from which country he is from Thiaw is German, so the club can replay Thiaw with a non-Italian. So the characteristics has to be someone who can play with the ball, tall and strong and if they have Serie A experience then fine. But this is what the player has to be good with because the skill set of the remaining CB requires someone who can play with the ball.

    1. As things stand, we have more players than we can register for List A. If Thiaw goes then we break even and that’s including Bennacer and Adli.

      Assume those two go, then we have two non-Italian spots that we can bring in.

      I think the Young Boys right back is Under 22 so doesn’t need to be registered, so we could theoretically bring in a non-It CF and CB and be OK still.

      1. Huh? Why would we include Adli and Bennacer in the registered squad? Adli is training with Futuro FFS.

        1. That’s my point, if those two go and Thiaw goes then we have two non-Italian spots for incoming players still. I didn’t word it very well, sorry.

  2. At least they are players from Serie A. I would like it if we had at least 3 Italians in the starting lineup with Gabbia and Ricci + Comuzzo or Leoni. I’m not sad about Thiaw leaving. 40 million is a lot of money for his inconsistent performances.
    What worries me more: are we adequately covered in the RB position? Saele + Jimenez are in my opinion a bit too attacking and fit better into a back five. Athekame is more of a prospect for the future…
    AND: why aren’t we keeping Okafor? I always found him promising, with a low salary, and he could fit well into a two-striker system, like back in his RB Salzburg days.

    1. Bro… are you not reading the news? Athekame from Young Boys have been worked on for days now. I think he will sone join.

        1. Yes I know, but I dont think, that he will be ready for the starting eleven at his actual Level. More like a prospect… as i wrote

    2. I say go for both Comuzzo and Leoni as we are currently in 32 mil+ profit and that is not even counting in the Thiaw sale or a potential Musah, Bennacer, Adli, Chukwueze, Terraciano and Okafor + all the loan deals that will with great likelihood become sales next summer.
      There is potentially room for this and still adding Either a cheap acquisition of Vlahovic or a Højlund loan with an option to buy.

      1. The dream. To see Milan making big bold pledges to secure parts of our team would be reminiscent of the early 00’s and whilst I think it’s viable I can’t see it happening, it’s likely even we get neither

        1. Absolutely Muretti and I would also be rather surprised if they actually did splash that sort of cash on several players as it really isn’t their modus operandi even if they can afford it. It would give the ownership some more credibility though even if I think close to 40 mil for an 18 year old in its own right is a bit over the top. In the end though they cant really cheap out here either so I do expect at least some sort of good player arriving but time will tell and even if I’m not to fond of the ownership I do believe we have done some good incoming transfers from the looks of it.

          1. I think Scavlini is there for the taking as is Cummuzo, I think if Scavlini stays and has a good season at ATL then his value rockets to 60-70m, 55m could get both at the moment I feel and with the World Cup looming they will go everything this season

          2. I certainly wouldn’t mind Scalvini joining us Malik but he also comes with some worries after his injuries but if the deal is right then I wouldn’t oppose it either but that would also be below his current valuation of 35 mil which I doubt would be in the cards but yeah if he can get up in gears again his valuation would also potentially go upwards.

    3. Savona and Comuzzo for 20M and 25M might be the way to got for reinvestment…

      Anthekame might be just a contingency plan for Jimenez (after purchase just loan to Serie A club for exp) and with 40M from Thiaw and 30M for Musah, RB should definitely be a priority!

    4. Most likely will play with 3 in the back, so any of these guys can work as an outside mid type player

  3. A little Pietro Commuzo YouTube search.
    First video that pops up
    Pietro Commuzo Solid Performance vs Juventus – ManUtd target – Better than DeLigt?

    First Thuram goal, surprise, surprise Comuzzo’s fault. Gets dragged out of his zone by Vlahovic, leaving a whole in defense, late to read the play and lazy attempt to intercept the pass, Thuram runs into the whole left by Commuzo and scores a goal.
    Gets beat on few occasions real bad by Vlahovic but thankfully De Gea makes great saves.
    2nd Thuram goal, not the main defender at fault but he is late to react on the play again.
    In between a lot of areal duels won. I guess he is good at those.

    1. Agreed Comuzzo seems to be hyped purely because he’s Italian. Scalvini has recently come back from a serious injury. Leoni is super young but I’d like him as he looks pretty solid.

      Either way whichever one we go for is a risk, not like we can sign Lazio captain Nesta. Have to pounce for potential rather than the finished article as the financial game has moved on.

    2. Both Comuzzo and Leoni aren’t ready to start at Milan. They would need time. We don’t have time. That’s why the timing of Thiaw sale is a bit ridiculous. Plusvalenza rules again. And it is a good deal to be fair. I just don’t know who they replace him with that’s ready.

      1. According to the Transfermarkt appearance chart, it looks like he was a starter at the beginning of the season, but after week 21, he was mostly a bench player. So, I don’t think that only the Juventus games were an issue.

      2. I think Napoli and Inter are way more of a competition than Juve…

        They still can’t buy anyone and have only 2 good CBs… midfield is still not complete

  4. If we play this back 3 go with Comuzzo but if we are playing 4 at the back and under 40 mill I’d like to see Leoni come in play some and develop.

  5. Trust Furlani, Tare and Ibrahimovic, they will go for the cheapest one. Quantity just to fill the space, not quality. Useless Management.

    1. Otega man your comment is so useless that it was useless to post it. Whatever happens, you´ll never be positive. This management has done very good moves and we have signed almost every player we were looking for, even if the cost was higher than expected. They signed Fofana, Gimenez, Modric, Jashari,… and our coach Allegri. Who do they need to sign for you to say anything positive?

      1. also jovic,morata,felix,emerson,walker etc so you are idiot ed3l, this managment is disaster but your brain probably remember last 2months what hapens at club.
        we have disaster politics with transfers after Pioli left, only if you like watch us at 8 place then ok

    2. Quantity like Jashari, Modric And Ricci. Absolute rubbish players! Useless players, useless world, useless management, totally absolutely utterly useless /s

    3. Credit where it’s due, it seems Tare and Allegri have brought sense back to management. Once Galliani is back I doubt well ever see he shenanigans of days past again. The fact that we are not in the CL might just be the blessing (in disguise) that allows us to completely reset without the pressures of three games a week tbh. Maybe we should cut the management some slack for now.

  6. Our scouts should be doing better. How hard can it be to find new defensive gems in the Bundesliga or Eredivisie?

  7. They might actually go for the youngest this time as we have money.

    Leoni is only 18 but a big guy. Can he evolve with us?

    Will Allegri play Tomori more now? Can Tomori find a better consistency in performances with Jashari and Ricci in front? They should be able to protect the defense better than what we’ve seen since Kessie left.

  8. Leoni looks like a really good prospect. But max 25mil. And that goes same for this other two. I would add as a posible good CB Kiwor too. He wanted to leave Arsenal last season. He would be good with Gabia.
    Or another option is keep Pavlovic/Gabia and move Bartesagni to be a back up CB with Tomori(Bart is naturally a CB in fact). Then invest the money in LB back up and maybe Belanova RB.

  9. You’re nuts if you think they’ll splash 35 on Leoni. Even 33 for Jashari was a stretch that caused internal tension.

    1. Leoni not worth 35m euro . Lacking experience and playing time while jashari already play for swiss senior team and mvp in jupiler league with brugge. But of course EPL club can easily pay 40m euro for leoni ( thats what parma want )

  10. Leoni is probably too young end unproven to go to Premier League

    Milan is next step

    Maybe loan would be best,
    many Italians didnt turn so good

    hope he does if MIlan gets him

  11. Leoni should be priority. After that, management can bo for one of their beloved 4mil random prospects from a smaller team/league that they hope turns a profit

  12. yes, loan both Leoni and De Winter

    if Milan play 352 occassionally

    those 5 for 3 positions:

    Gabbia, Pavlovic, Tomori
    Leoni, De Winter

    try Bartesaghi also for CB

    1. This!!!
      Thats why its crazy that some people think that Milan should sign an 18 year old Leoni, who has played less than 18 games total of professional football, should be Thiaw’s replacement, especially for 40 m.

      1. Yeah that’s why Inter are Scudetto contenders and made it all the way to the CL finals. Because their Italian core su*ks right? That’s why all the team finished in front of us last season have Italian core more or less. Because their Italians su*k right? Gabbia was statistically our best central defender. But he’s still considered a second grade player by many from this fanbase. Lmao, the bias and hate towards Italians is incomprehensible here. Don’t even understand why you follow an ITALIAN club playing in ITALIAN league. Maybe you lot should just find a PL club to follow and gtfo from here.

  13. Sometimes, reading these comments are so so funny … You guys think Thiaw is not worth 40 mil so should be sold ?
    Similar with Theo and he was replaced with Estupian and you can clearly see it’s a downgrade…

    Do you honestly believe Commuzzo or Leoni will be better at Milan than Thiaw? Or just because they are Italian because of Ucl quota?

    Time will tell if those players will be better than Thiaw…
    I hope for the sake of our club I won’t be here to say I told you so

    1. Really? Because they offered him an extension and he opted to leave to Newcastle. wasn’t our choice. But you’d pass on 40 million for Thiaw? Hmm…

  14. Lets offer fiorentina 20m euro + bennacer or adili or even both for comuzzo, pioli like them both . Leoni have potential but not convinced to be key player for now

    1. I don’t understand why neither Milan nor other teams want Adli.
      In a limited role last season at Fiorentina, just 1600 minutes he had 5 goals and 7 assists. Thats a great return.

      1. for some reason he went on loan last season, i guess he lost his position, i regarded him high, same as Musah now

        1. if Milan play 352 occasionally

          i think Musah as right wing back

          he played similar position versus Real Madrid and did well

  15. If we arent going to sign an Italian, then Sutalo from Ajax would be the best signing. Great ball playing CB with experience and still relatively young. Should cost around the 30mil mark which is great value

  16. Koni de Winter is the best and cheapest option. Parma turned down 35m for Leoni. They want 40m for him and I doubt Milan will pay that much for an inexperienced 18yr old who only has played 17 games in Serie A while only starting 14 of those games.

    Comuzzo is grossly overrated and Fiorentina will want at minimum 35m for him and he is not worth that much. So de Winter gets my vote as we can get him for 25-30m.

    1. thats why loan with option

      if he turns out what we hope he is, then pay them that money

      but many italians didnt turn so good, and milan payed a lot for them

  17. selling thiaw without securing a replacement was a huge mistake that shouldn’t be mad by a seasoned DS,

    now mr. tare, every club we negotiate with will play hard ball since everyone knows we r 2 CBs short.

    Leoni and Comuzzo aren’t ready for starters in our squad level

    also calafiori and scalvini just returned from injuries

    i’d take calafiori 40M and tumiyaso free…and both can play LB n RB respectively and focus on a ST

    1. It’s what they’ve always done. Selling or releasing first because what’s better then money in the books, and then start scratching their heads for replacements.

  18. Ok, here me out. Thiaw goes for almost 40 and we sell donkey Musah for 25. Then, we sell one of Chuk or Okafor. If we have those funds, we can sign De Winter for around 25 and break the bank for Woltemade….i know I’m dreaming, but he’s the perfect striker for this type of team. Plus, rat Furlani can flip him and get his capital gains in 2 years.

  19. I think (and hope) we’re getting a #9 from Man Utd, makes sense now Sesko has joinded them

    So loaning either Hojlund or Zirkzee

  20. Noah Okafor is Left Winger , Samuel Chukwueze is
    Right Winger

    when we play 433

    i hope we will play both 433 and 352

  21. 😂😂😂😂 every player will be sold for 40m. I dont think we will pay for that. Leoni 40m reject from Liverpol, Comuto 40m fiorentina reject Napoli, de winter 30m for now.
    We will bring some new Pavlovic for 15 to 20m and that is.Who will be that we will see,probably some solid player from Chealsea or Lille, or some 27 old 😂

  22. Great transfer fee for Thiaw … the timing is not perfect but the offer was to good to refuse imo…. I would love for Milan to go for De Winter(cb and rb) and Kiwior(cb and lb), both know the league… add the swiss kid as well for the RB position and Allegri will have flexibility and numbers to get us back to Cl. I would love them to splash the cash on profiles like Scalvini and Leoni but the risk would be to big when we take into consideration the injury for Scalvini and the inexperienced Leoni and their respective transfer fees. Let’s see what happens next week but Tare needs to act quick and decesivly. We are running out of time and we have not completed the defensive and striker departments and we still have a lot of players that are just not needed at the club.

    1. I think 40 mil for an 18 year old is steep but I absolutely agree with the sentiment if Allegri wanted to keep Thiaw they better fork up and give him another player he wants and he has mentioned Leoni as the future of Italian football so the club shouldn’t cheap out here.

  23. Priority should be someone with serie a experience not if they are Italian or not. Kiwior should be our no 1 target. Others mentioned are not proven.

  24. lets be real here.
    the moneyball works
    we sold 200m+ value total

    but then we are like dortmund, sometimes we are up there, some times we are at bottom.

  25. My dream is Leoni for his enormous potential but the price will make the deal almost impossible. Comuzzo is good but Fiorentina is known like a greedy club asking always big numbers and Comuzzo is good but not as good. Scalvini personally I don’t like him , he’s always injured.
    I would not be surprised if Milan will make a move for Oumar Solet from Udinese one of the revelation of last Serie A season or Jhon Lucumi. Bologna will not want to sell but he has a clause in his contract if I’m not mistaken. In this moment I prefer proven defenders in Serie A or proven players in Serie A.
    My first option (except Leoni) is Solet , but Milan will better be smart and bring Solet and Lucumi too. Best defence and best midfield in Serie A next season no doubt .

  26. I see Leoni as future Italian captian. with only 18 he is showing a real leadership and tackles are so clean reminds me alot of Nesta. We need this guy, Liverpool, Inter, Juve etc. are interested in him that says alot how good he is already, loan with option to buy just like Sandro Tonali, I really hope we get him. Forza Milan

  27. What we need is an experienced centerback, a Bremer/Acerbi/Kjær-type that knows how to lead a defence. Not Leoni, Comuzzo or DeWinter.

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