The transfer market was marked by an initial “destructive” phase that had already started back in January, when Davide Calabria was sold to Bologna. In the summer, Kyle Walker was not redeemed, and the huge flop of summer 2024, Brazilian full-back Emerson Royal, was sold.
The most significant departures, though, were Theo Hernandez, who had reached breaking point with the club and received no contract renewal offer, and Alex Jimenez, who left toward the end of the summer window after Allegri deemed the Spaniard non-essential to his project.
Young bets
In light of these sales, signings of a certain profile were expected on both flanks. Things changed, however, when the decision was made to stick with a back three. The full-backs brought in, only two of them, were players capable of operating as wing-backs. On the left came Pervis Estupiñán, with solid international experience but facing his first starting role at a top club at age 27. On the right arrived Zachary Athekame, a very young Swiss player who is still raw and clearly not ready to start. For that reason, with the change of formation, Alexis Saelemaekers remains first-choice on the right, with the Swiss behind him, as pointed out by Milan News.
On the opposite flank, Estupiñán starts, though he still needs to adapt, with youngster Davide Bartesaghi as the only natural alternative. It remains to be seen if these four players will be enough in a system that demands a lot from its wing-backs, and whether Allegri, if needed, will adapt by using someone like Rabiot or Loftus-Cheek, who have some past experience in that role.
