Weeks have passed since the conclusion of the 2023-24 Serie A campaign for Milan, with the club
finishing second behind rivals Inter who beat them in the race to emblazon the second star on their shirt for the 20th Scudetto.
Despite overhauling the roster last summer and reaping the benefits of many newcomers like Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders, many argued the market was incomplete. League finish aside, it is hard to argue against taking that position.
With that being said, the summer market is here and has officially opened for business. So let’s assess the areas in need of addressing and identify those profiles who could fill the glaring holes within the current squad.
Milan's defence requires improved personnel and depth
The defence was far too mistake-prone and susceptible to conceding in crucial moments, showing
imbalance and instability in closing out matches.
With respect to Stefano Pioli, and what he achieved in the five years as manager, the truth of the matter is his setup defensively contributed towards a poor record in the back.
The collective has shown in the past to be proficient and assured in their responsibilities, and to say the defence lacks individual quality would be inaccurate.
Malick Thiaw showed glimpses in his first season at the club, specifically against Tottenham in the
knockout stages where his profile and confidence held up well against the English side. He was however prone to committing fatal errors in crucial games against Inter and Juventus.
Pierre Kalulu, together with Fikayo Tomori, was paramount down the stretch of the Scudetto season and really began to blossom into one of the better young defenders in Serie A. However, injuries have derailed him lately, resulting in setbacks to his development.
Unfortunately, neither made noticeable strides forward last year under Pioli, which Paulo Fonseca must rectify for their careers as they each possess too much promise to be wasted.
Tomori aside, and he too needs to step it up, the defence has a lot of question marks.
What will Matteo Gabbia give you over a full season with a more elevated rotational role? Will Jan-Carlo Simic stay? If so, can he make strides forward to be solidify concerns of depth? How will Simon Kjaer’s veteran presence be replaced, if at all?
Unless a tremendous opportunity presents itself, it is hard to imagine the club allocating precious funds of a significant sum towards this central area. Fullback, however, is a different conversation.
Alex Jimenez has been officially redeemed from Real Madrid for an estimated €5 million, with the
Spanish side retaining two buy-back clauses over the next two seasons for €9 million and €12 million respectively.
Amidst rumors of intense interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich for Theo Hernandez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has doubled down on his previous comments earlier in the off-season that the Frenchman will remain at the club as starter, with Jimenez as the backup.
Assuming the subject of Theo’s renewal sorts itself out and both sides find a solution that keeps him at San Siro, this is plenty good.
On the opposite side, Davide Calabria is not viewed by many as the solution at right-back. For that
reason, there seems to be doubt over renewing his current deal which expires in 2025 as the captain wants a pay raise to go along with it. As such, talks are progressing to bring in an upgrade, with Tottenham’s Emerson Royal the most logical choice at this current time.
There are more questions than answers in the defence right now. For this reason, and with doubt over the collective quality circling this area of the squad, Fonseca needs to be the one to nurture the young talent, lean on Tomori to usher the unit along as a veteran and evoke a more balanced approach at the back.
Midfield’s palpable lack of defensive quality
When assessing the current midfield, it can be viewed a few ways.
There are those who probably believe that outside of a new defensive midfielder, the group is sorted and balanced enough.
Departmentally though, Milan should always be seeking ways to improve the roster and this area is no different.
The Rossoneri have by all accounts failed to replace Franck Kessie from three summers ago, only to then double down and repeat that same mistake last year when they sold Sandro Tonali without
someone to fill his role.
This past season, they surely felt the void without a proper option.
The midfield lacked bite, strength and a certain rugged profile. That has to be addressed as a top priority this summer.
A profile who can sit in front of the defence to receive the ball, carry out of pressure and advance play to the more progressive passers and creators.
With Feyenoord’s Mats Wieffer reportedly set on an estimated €30 million switch to Brighton, Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana is a strikingly good fit for this vacancy. Not to mention, with one year remaining on his contract, the French club might be tempted to sell to the Italian club if they submit an offer close to €25 million. They are without competition for the France international though, so they must act quick and work diligently to close a deal.
Further down the depth chart, raising the quality of the last men coming off the bench is often
overlooked as they aren’t the first names to feature in an XI. Yet, we could see more shakeups in the pecking order as Tommaso Pobega and Yacine Adli are candidates for the chopping block. Sales would however yield decent enough return to reinvest into more quality and suitable players to fit Fonseca’s play style.
Milan have zero excuse to cut corners on the striker role
Unlike in previous years, the attack is equipped well with plenty of talent and very few questions marks.
Rafael Leao, Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor offer quite a bit in the wide areas, so there isn’t a whole lot to address there.
The striker is, has, and will remain, the utmost top priority this summer, so let’s talk about it.
Luka Jovic has been signed for an additional season after a productive 2023/24 as a two-bit option
deputizing for the newly signed LAFC star Oliver Giroud.
The Serbian will provide depth and support, specifically off the bench where he carved out a role of his own under Pioli.
Significant investment is of paramount importance this summer however, and that is what will be
required to bring in a transcending, game-changing forward up front in Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna.
Talks have been ongoing for what feels like months now for the Dutchman who enjoyed a splendid
2023/24 season under Thiago Motta, scoring 11 goals and assisting 4 in 34 appearances to win Serie A Best Young Player award.
Milan have long made their intentions clear with Bologna that they fully intended to trigger the €40 million release clause, and are ready to offer the young talent a significant contract to make him the next cornerstone attacking signing to partner with Leao and Pulisic.
The lone obstacle standing in the way of Milan acquiring his signature is his agent Kia Joorabchian exorbitant €15 million demands in commissions, putting this deal on standby and Manchester United on high-alert has they attempt to hi-jack the deal.
As such, Milan are reportedly weighing additional options in the even the deal falls through for the former Bayern Munich starlet, including Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata who has rejected massive money and tempting offers from Saudi in favor of a stay in Europe.
The former Juventus man scored 15 goals last season in La Liga and has a very cost-effective €13
million release clause.
Along with the affordable fee, Morata’s prior experiences at Juventus and familiarity with the league makes him an appealing fallback option for Zirkzee in the even that deal collapses, or perhaps a vice Zirkzee as reports suggest the Netherlands international’s arrival would not rule out another striker in this department.
Regardless of who is brought in, Milan have to act in serious manner to address this area and bring in legitimate solutions who can put the ball in the back of the net and expand in the chance creation for those to do so if they wish to compete in 2024/25.
