After a disastrous last few weeks that have seen multiple objectives vanish for AC Milan, the management have been left to reflect on many aspects of their operations.
Calciomercato.com writes that one of these aspects is the 2022 summer signings and their lack of impact so far. A positive note is Malick Thiaw who has played little but always in situations of great difficulty and has shown himself to be reliable, so he should get more chances.
Despite a first season will has been difficult in terms of adapting to a new club and a new country, Charles De Ketelaere still enjoys the full trust of Ricky Massara and Paolo Maldini, so there is no chance of him being put up for sale this summer.
It is a very different speech for Sergino Dest, whose future will most likely be at Barcelona given that he has a €20m option to buy and has so far not done enough to impress. Aster Vranckx also has a slim chance of staying at Milan, given his option to buy is set at €12m.
It is also worth paying attention to the situations of Yacine Adli and Divock Origi as both are not certian to still be at the club next season.
Half players should go. Maybe this could be something in banter era
It’s very simple, all the over 30 players should leave,Florenzi,Messias, Ibra, Kjaer Tata, Mirante even Giroud, contentrate on the other players,even the players brought in this season should stay, they are all good players, but Pioli has killed them off, they just need game time, and slowly their confidence will come back, then we proceed with very targeted buys, not necessarily expensive players, bring back Maldini, Colombo, Caldara Laztic and give them a season, even the free transfer market has gems we could use, and the most important thing, get rid of Pioli, he has run his races, he lacks the vision, courage to try new things….
Very very narrow minded. This is real football
I agree with the first part of what you said about the over 30 players should leave. But at the same time your other arguments were off. Milan management must spend on quality players and also have a deep bench. In this transfer window they did absolutely nothing. The writing was on the wall but they still refused. So what do you expect now
On the day a player turns 30 he becomes old, weak, slow and injury-prone and cannot do ****. 😀 😀 😀
Say that to Modric, Messi, Lewandowski, Giroud, etc. Look at the top goal scorers in the last WC (you know the highest level competition there is on this planet). Two of the 3 best scorers were over 35. How about that.
This is false argumentation. It is OK to have adaption for new players, but Milan lost first team players for free, during couple of years, without adequate change.
So, they lost $umma, and they bring Mike, who is injured in this season – so no adequate change. They should bring good second Gk as well. Lost Hakan for free – they expected Diaz to step up, but Diaz is still not mature.
This is most important: they lost 💸 ie (cashie) and Romagnoli for free, and they bring Pobega, Vranckx and Thiaw.
So on paper you have numbers but not adequate change. You have potential but in nature not every potential will materialise.
Milan didn’t have good rotation and before De Ketelaere and Origi arrival, and without impact of these two new players Milan destiny is without Europe. This is something that must happen.
And then we have players in team which are to be fair low middle class players.
Just to remember, Messias, Saelemakers, Rebic, Kjaer is too old and after injury low class player, than balo toure, Krunic, etc…
That’s the bunch of low class player.
This team yet had very good result in this season. And if they finish belowe sixth position, owner must step up. Many of these players should be sold, manager sacked, and put the money in the team, no matter ffp.
Very good points about those who left for free and no replacements were got…
Ownership is at fault here. I don’t blame Pioli because he was never the right man, he was always the cheap option. Are any of us surprised really? Did we think he was Pep or Ten Haag because they share hair styles? Pioli is a good manager, he overachieved with the scudetto, and is now being found out. However he is still a good manager. What he is not, is a world class manager, the type that Milan need. He must be given credit primarily for steadying the ship which he did well, he also introduced a great team spirit.
It wasn’t long ago the owners of this forum were hailing Pioli’s tactical prowess on the podcast. Pioli hasn’t done anything that Pioli hasn’t done, or would be expected to do. He has afterall from his title winning side, lost Kessie a world class midfielder, who was never replaced. Add to that the loss of 2 of his 3 world class players for a long time (Maignan and Theo) a squad a season older, of which Giroud, Zlatan and Kjaer are now firmly on their way down having been exceptional players.
I said it back in the summer, you strengthen from a position of strength, we weakened from a position of strength. Origi was never going to be the 2 goal striker people thought he was, as i said numerous times, Klopp saw fit to but Nunez, Jota and even Mane as strikers over him. All his fabled moments came at the end of games, when opposition were tired, and he could use his undoubted physical athleticism to make a difference…..he is a decent forward player, that is it. Belotti would have made more sense, but the haters will hate. Belotti is a proven Serie A goalscorer… it was the better option. Before people throw the ‘look at him at Roma’ nonsense, he has not been first choice and in my opinion was a poor fit for them…..CDK was the wrong signing under the circumstances. IF it was Milan of 2003 or 1990s then he would make sense. What we needed was a game changer on the RW and we didn’t get it….no idea what happened with Berardi but again the haters hate.. never mind that across the aggregate he averages 15 goals and 10 assists per season from a position we were desperately weak in. We failed to bring in Botman who is showing his class at Newcastle now. All of this due to funds not being available. Plus, was Romagnoli really that bad?
We are all aware of FFP but there are ways and means. I do not approve of Chelsea or City level of spending but with CL money and being clever we could have mace the 2-3 signings we need. You can run losses over 3-5 years on FFP.
We have a good team, players dont get bad overnight, Maingan, Theo and Leao are world class, Bennacer, Tonali, not far behind, Tomori and Kalulu are very good defenders.
We failed to address the obvious issues, we got fixated on CDK as the desperation saviour for CAM but now seem willing to throw 20m at Madrid for Brahim? there is a logical disconnect there…..
We are now at the trying to keep our best players stage, rather than from title winning team looking to strengthen….
Don’t hate on Pioli, he’s done nothing unexpected, the players range from good to world class…Conte or Tuchel would be streaks ahead in the league with them, but Milan didn’t want to pay for Conte or Tuchel. Even if Pioli goes, there will be no saviour, Abate will get it ‘until the end of the season’…he may even pull us into CL spot, then he will be seen as the man who can and the cycle begins again……!!
You say it’s the owners fault, but then you talk about Belotti and Berrardi.
Both Belotti and Origi were free agents, Belotti had a lower salary than Origi. It wasn’t the owners or the haters that chose Origi over Belotti but Maldini and Massara.
Milan paid about 35 million for CDK. They could have probably had Berrardi for that money, but someone decided to use that money on CDK.
Not to mention Enzo and Kolo Muani cases. Enzo 10 mil, Kolo was free.
At some point, people will have to look at the real problem in Milan, which is the decisions of the infamous M&M.
Milan owners provided more money than any other club in serie A without selling players.
People might think that 50 mil is not enough for Milan to catch up with the big clubs in Europe, but that money was plenty enough for Milan to defend the title in Italy or at least fight till the end with Napoli.
Napoli lost 4 important players over the summer Koulibaly, Fabian, Mertens, Insigne, spent about 60 mil in the summer (money provided from sales, not the owners pocket) and they are much better this season.
Milan lost 2 important players Kessie and Romagnoli, spent 50 mil, (all of it provided out of owners pocket, since M&M CAN’T SELL) and we are much worse.
Lets not forget that Maldini also brought us Kalulu, Tomori, Theo, Tonali and Leao.
I also think M&M wanted Berardi but as usual Sassuolo played hardball knowing we had limited funds. It’s also clear they wanted Botman and Sanches but their wings were clipped. See Zaniolo in January.
Your Napoli comparison is a good one, and they have made some great signings. Your numbers however are off, Oshimen cost upwards of 70m, Kvaratskhelia 12m…you are probably looking at a 100m spend from them. Your point about sales vs spend is relevant, I do not know how we allowed lightning to strike 3 times or who is ultimately to blame…Origi was a bad move and cannot understand who thought he would be a better bet in Serie A than Belotti.
What wings were clipped?
Botman was very expensive and he signed with Newcastle while Maldini was negotiating his own contract for a month.
Maldini still had 50 million to sign another CB, he chose to sign CDK, a forward, instead.
Thank God he didn’t sign Renato Sanches. I don’t understand people using Renato as an excuse. The guy can’t stay healthy, he just got injured after playing 10 minutes.
Zaniolo, really? Another injury prone player, Maldini has a fetish for them, Florenzi, Origi, Renato Sanches, Zaniolo. Another thank God he couldn’t sign Zaniolo. The guy has scored 3 goals in 18 months, our defense and midfield are relegation levels, but Maldini is asking the owners for an undererforming , injury prone forward. Make it make sense.
Napoli signed Osimhen 3 years ago, and his actual price is probably closer to 40 than to 70 mil, there is a lot of chicanery when it comes to his transfer , that’s why they are under investigation
Some fans just don’t want to call out Maldini but he and Massara are the #1 to blame. They wasted time and money on useless signings. Thiaw is promising, otherwise zero. We don’t have a replacement for Kessie, no decent backup goalie, no decent RW. The owners have successfully steadied the ship, Pioli did a great job for 2 years, but he’s not good enough to take us to the next level.
I still think this is down to financial constraints. 35m in a market where Newcastle, Chelsea and Barca are just throwing money around is peanuts. If 35m could have got us Berardi then serious questions need asking!
Agree with your assessment of Poli, pretty much what i said, he is a good coach, not a great one.
Ckearly maldini’s hands are tied when he is not given enough funds to get new players.
However he too is to blame and has failed to get a reliable replacement for maignan and a good striker. Also failed to replace kessie.
But let us admit that we cannot go far with kjaer, dest, rebic, brahim diaz, origi, ibra, giroud, calabria, messias and saelemakers. Miracles only happen once.
Can never understand why adli is never given a chance at all.
Read some comments. Basically Maldini was supposed to bring 6 players with 50M and they did exactly that. You don’t get the same quality as if you paid 50 each, you can see that. And talk about Belotti, he is no better than Origi. Players that were wanted by 1 or 2 clubs aren’t top players, everyone would’ve be jumping to get them if that was the case…
Come on, we were clearly trying to get Botman and Sanches over the line for 6 months. Whether you rate Sanches or not, those were the targets and we failed to get them. Botman even stated his preference for Milan…wings clipped. Not sure where you get 50m from either. Given that CDK was out main target, and we had to beg borrow and steal to get him in at about 30m.
Zaniolo is worth the gamble. What you fail to realise is that we can’t shop in the big boy bins, we are in the bargain bins. We cannot go for players who could end up in a bidding war, Botman for example. This is why i believe we have gone for the likes of Vranckx and Thiaw. They have potential, arent bad, but arent of interest to anyone else.
Defence and midfield are our two strongest areas, outside of this 2023 nightmare where the whole team is woefully down on form and inspiration, the issues have been creating and scoring goals. That is the area that needs addressing, we do not need to prioritise defence and midfield. I said multiple times that if we cannot sign Berardi then Zaniolo is a good shout, on a loan to buy deal, or reduced price at the very least. Who else do you suppose we get? Ziyech clearly has his sights on PSG level of club. Man Utd and PSG have shown interest so he isnt going to join the circus is he…We need players who know the league, Serie A is our priority.
It is all down to economics, you must have your head under a rock if you think that the owners have backed what we need. Kessie alone required a 30m plus investment to replace, that isn’t even addressing the glaring problems elsewhere in attack, the CAM inconsistency, the impotent RW and not having a striker under 35.
Kessie was there to take back on loan but pride made Maldini rejects him,Milan was in need of a midfielder who will assist Tonali since Ishmeal is injury prone y not get him since he knows Milan,Y go for Origi who also is average and also injury prone?Y still keep Rebic who did not contribute enough last season?Y let ur youth product go when he will be needed since u can’t buy a striker(Colombo n Maldini)?Y still rely on the players of last season knowing that they need help of other players?Y renew Diaz loan deal when he bearly did wat he was brought in to do last season?Y not swap or sell underperforming players of last season for a better ones?Y not Pioli have different game plan and tactics for different teams and play to the strength of his current and mediocre players?Y get Bakayoko on loan when u cannot play him?
It is expected that when u win a league title u use the summer to reinforce ur team with quality players who will challenge the initial players that won the league which will improve the team and also get rid of players who are below average.Milan should have remove sentiments and sell Rebic,Krunic,Ballo-Toure,Messiahs,Sealamakers n Diaz,with Quality players,They should hv waited n observe Adli,Origi is not a quality player maybe cos he won trophies @ Liverpool they thought he is a gem bt he warm the bench always n luckily pop in and score few goals he is also injury prone he cannot perform as a main striker.There where quality players who where available but Maldini n Masara where after players who are not willing to play for Milan and they never made use of second n third options Cos Enzo was cheap bt was there for the taking bt they where bent on Renato Sanchez who was not willing to come,Houssem Auor was there as alternative but nothing was done rather they where hoping on Adli who was not a quality bt rather an average player Ishmeal is injury prone Tonali needed a good partner to improve along with Him since Kessie had gone bt none was provided rather Pobega was returned but his position is not a double pivot but more of attack minded that’s y he played n score goals for Torino,In defense Botman was targeted but Milan can’t compete with Newcastle for money there was no alternative for a LCB to cover for Alexio again same as the GK,Plazari is a good backup for Maignan but he was sold for Tatarusanu who last season was not a better option yet no proper replacement was made Milan was going for Asencio but stopped they where linked with quality players bt nothing happened again Pioli was not given a mandate and him as a manager should demand quality to improve his squad bt since he was lucky and miraculously won the league it entered his head thinking it will happen again not knowing other teams will improve their squad.There was loan option y did Milan use it to get players who will compete and improve the squad rather mediocre players was loan imaging Bakayoko,Diaz who has not improved the quality of the team.Milan bought CDK knowing it will take time for him to adapt where was his backup u rather loaned out ur youth product who would have stepped up Colombo,Maldini and also use ur youth players to cover for lapses bt no Milan keep going for cheap and mediocre players who is using Milan as a retirement home.Terminate some of these players like Bakayoko there are quality players who are out of contract Isco is one of them he will improve the team for now till the summer again Pioli has no ideas left on him the better he resigns the better for Milan.