The AC Milan management believe that they have given Massimiliano Allegri a top squad able to immediately fight for targets.
Milan were among the busiest clubs in Serie A during the summer, despite CEO Giorgio Furlani’s claims in June that there would be no revolution. There were over 30 operations in total, which has given the squad a real reboot.
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A tailor-made squad?
Are Milan now ready to win? Corriere della Sera (via MilanPress) writes that – according to the board, starting with Furlani – the answer can only be an affirmative yes. The club believes it has placed a top-quality team in Allegri’s hands, strengthened compared to last season.
There are champions like Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot and Christopher Nkunku, plus young players ready to make a big leap like Ardon Jashari, Samuele Ricci and Koni De Winter, plus a couple of promising talents like Zachary Athekame and David Odogu.
The newspaper highlights how the wage bill increased by 10% by the end of the transfer window, despite a squad trimmed to 19 outfield players and three goalkeepers, significantly smaller than in the past.
Now there’s a more Italian feel with the arrival of Ricci and the return of a player who’s now experienced in Serie A: Saelemaekers. The arrival of Allegri could yet be the big ‘signing’ though, given his deep knowledge of the league.
Now the dust has settled it doesn’t seem too bad that we missed a few roles in the team. Only time will tell and maybe there’s the idea to revisit in winter. Allegri has stated on a few occasions the idea is to be in a good position around match time. This gives him the time to get this relatively small group gelled and working and dare I say it I think with what another 14 or so games until that window he could rack up enough points around 30 to keep us in the mix. We do have a few game weeks that are hard opposition so some 6 pointers in there, so need to make the most of getting 3 points off the smaller teams which is why cremonese hurt so bad.
March time*
Tailor made? Allegri asked for typical 9 and experienced CB.You gave him a false 9 at best and 19 year old with 2 first team appearances. It’s like if you ask for apples to make apple pie and they bring you pineapples
Buying a VW and expect it to perform like a Ferrari. Scapegoat in the making.
“Italian feel” with one Italian player out of 10 recruits 🤣 All these articles from Italian newspapers look like they are actually written by Milan’s PR team.
Terracciano & Ricci. I think it makes two but I’ve never been that good in math.
What a franchise player. Meanwhile there is zero Milan player called by Gattuso for Italy.
Fabbian and Leoni though, who apparently would have been terrible signings 🤷🏻♂️
Urgh, international break means another full week of Furliani photos for ragebaiting.
Define ‘win’. If there are expectations that we win the league this year, they were always incredibly optimistic. With this level of squad upheaval, it’s even moreso. The aim was always top 4, regardless of how bullish people are.
Is the squad good enough to win the league? Probably, just about, but so are at least three to five others. It doesn’t mean it’s likely.
Then there’s health. As the article mentions, we have much less depth than previous years. If everyone stays healthy… no problem. If some injury-prone players have issues (Nkunku, Estupinian, RLC), then that’s something we should have seen coming. If others get long-term injuries (Leao, Saelemaekers) then we’re really going to struggle to cover them but sometimes that’s just bad luck.
We’ve sold three starters and, according to most sources expecting a 3-5-2, we have acquired three starters.
But there are plenty of justifiable questions: Can so many players pick up a formation they aren’t familiar with? How will Leao adapt to a central role? Do we get Pulisic and Nkunku on the pitch together? Can a back three free up the midfield or do we still need a CDM role? How do we replace Reijnders’ goal tally?
Allegri has his work cut out for him. I’m not expecting instant miracles and we’re going to really suffer with fixtures over the next couple of months.
What I want to see is progress, gelling, starting to get the most out of players and a focus on improving. If we’re playing well at the end of the year and set for the following season, that’s what I’m looking for.
But it’s going to require patience that a lot of fans are (understandably) lacking. And tough mentality from players and staff to deal with that.
At this point we should also be honest. Milan has a good squad. I even dare say that Pulisic-Leao-Nkunku is potentially the most lethal offensive line in Serie A. In Modric and Rabiot we’ve got two of the best midfielders in Serie A for this season. Sure, in an ideal world we would have bought a true number 9 . Although I still believe – with a slight change of system – Gimenez and Leao will rack up 30+ goals between the two of them. Gimenez is quality. He just needs time, trust and good support (no, he’s not a target man, never has been). Us Milan fans are always so quick to write players of and be negative.
That just leaves the problem of the CB. Yes, it’s very unfortunate, but experienced CB’s want to play CL (just watch Akanji). At this point I think I agree that panick-buying experience wasn’t the play. We’ve got enough quality to qualify for CL. Then, next summer, let’s go and buy that CB and draw new conclusions.
Lastly, which team ends up in the CL spots, is not just up to quality. It’s about who is the best, most consistent and hard-working team. At this point it’s not about that extra CB. It’s about Allegri creating a coherent team with clear ideas and just bringing back the good feeling to Milanello and San Siro. All this complaining about management and individual players is only going to do harm. Time to put our trust in the team. There’s enough quality for sure.
Agree 💯
Also, people keep bashing Milan’s mercato. Well… Nkunku, Ricci, Modric & Rabiot will all raise Milan’s level. For sure. No questions about it. Jashari & co. also has potential. Something that Emerson Royal etc. lacked.
Sure, we could have used an experienced CB and a proper striker but let’s not kid ourselves and think the team isn’t stronger than last season. That’s so bloody obvious. Last season our midfield was absolutely horrible. Now that has been fixed. A massive upgrade in quality there. That alone makes a huge difference this season. Unless Allegri decides to still field RLC & Fofana 90 minutes each match. But that isn’t the mercato’s fault but Allegri’s alone.
The lack of a real 9 striker seems huge.
We sold most of our wingers and wing/full backs.
Almost none replaced.
No senior CB brought in either.
If we have even moderate injuries, there is no depth outside of midfield.
Also, from what I’ve read, that Udogu is exactly the profile we need, obviously apart from his lack of experience.
Wow, the RedBird lovers have reached peak delusion. A false 9 and a 19 year old kid with 3 games experience is a perfect mercato haha wow
The CB requirement wasn’t just about numbers – Tomori and Pavlovic are going to be a disaster under Allegri.
Tomori and Pavlo have not been that bad. Gabbia’s exclusion from the worst Italian defense in yrs is telling is it not?