AC Milan entrusted the new era to Igli Tare and Massimiliano Allegri, with both having a hand in the summer window.
It ended up being quite a crazy mercato for Milan, with over 30 operations completed when counting signings and sales. The midfield department was the area that underwent the biggest change after Tijjani Reijnders went to Manchester City.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
After five competitive games in 2025-26 so far, the middle of the park also looks to be Milan’s biggest strength. It is in large part down to the impact that two new starters have had in Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot.
‘Specific ideas’
The quality and experience of the Croatian and the Frenchman are already making a difference. Antonio Vitiello has revealed in his latest column for MilanNews that their arrival is down to two figures above all.
“AC Milan’s impressive performances against Bologna and Udinese give hope for a revitalised season, and if this is possible, it’s also thanks to a pair of high-profile midfield signings.
“Luka Modric is Igli Tare’s signature mov , strongly desired by the Albanian sporting director. Telephone conversations, followed by a personal trip to Croatia to speak with the former Real Madrid player, were decisive steps in landing the 40-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner.
“Tare strongly desired Modric, just as Allegri insisted on Adrien Rabiot. If it weren’t for Max, the French midfielder wouldn’t be at Milan. The two deals that have transformed Milan so far stem from specific ideas from the coach and sporting director, who are aware that raising the level will require experienced and high-quality players.
“And now it will be important to maintain consistency in results, starting with the double-header against Napoli and Juventus.”
Maehle, Lucumi, Vlahovic to finish the build!
It’s clear these signings weren’t ordered up by Redbird. One player is 40 and the other is 30. It’s the complete antithesis of the Redbird philosophy, and yet, they’ve been our best two signing of the summer, and possibly of the last couple of seasons. It precisely shows why successful sides are a combination of experience/accomplished players and young talent. Side that are only young talent or only ageing players will struggle in the end. Redbird ought to learn from this. In the long run, all of those young projects that they hope will become “assets” for future sales will not only benefit from having these types of players in the squad, but young players that are part of a quad that qualifies for the CL and challenges for titles will naturally see their values go up simply because they’re part of a successful operation.
Missing Dusan vlahovic ( striker that allegri want ) and strong CB ( left footed CB ) to finish this season build
Not going for a left footed CB in Kiwior, who clearly was leaving Arsenal, and instead getting a young and untested Odogu seems like the biggest misstake of an otherwise fantastic mercato.
Had we landed Kiwior instead, the defense would have looked as fantastic as the midfield and the attack.