We are practically halfway across the river: the most delicate phase of the “crossing” of the transfer market is now arriving. After reorganising the club structure and choosing the coach, Milan have ticked off two boxes considered crucial: the centre-forward and the central defender. A team’s backbone is indeed built (also) around these figures, with Gonçalo Ramos and Gila joining the established certainties already present, such as Maignan and Rabiot.
We know there are also assessments being made regarding the attacking midfield area. At the moment, several profiles are being monitored after losing Liberali and Karetsas, while the lack of movement regarding the wing-backs is somewhat worrying. The idea that “Amorim must evaluate” is somewhat of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is right that the coach thoroughly analyses all the available options before making a decision, and it is also true that players such as Saelemaekers only returned to training yesterday. On the other hand, there is a risk of having to do too much in too little time.
The friendly match against Celtic provided a first glimpse of what already seemed to be a priority: the group of wing-backs currently appears to be a potentially weak point for Milan. Chukwueze’s excellent performance should not be misleading, also because it is difficult to imagine that an attacking solution like the Nigerian can work 365 days a year, against every opponent and in every match. The secret to making three-man defence systems work, besides having many well-rehearsed patterns of play that open up the game on the flanks, is having players on the wings who come in pairs. They may have complementary qualities, but they need to be more or less at the same level physically and in terms of reliability.
Inter, who Milan will face in a friendly on Wednesday, built much of their success under both Inzaghi and Chivu on the strength of their wing-backs. At the moment, neither Estupiñán, Bartesaghi nor Athekame seem to offer that kind of guarantee. The situation is different for Chukwueze and Saelemaekers, but potentially they would only be two of the four players needed to face a season that includes Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Europa League.
So, it is good to keep trying, testing and evaluating, but it is also useful to remember that Serie A begins in 20 days. If the decision is made to intervene in the market, the necessary adaptation and integration period for new signings must also be taken into consideration, writes Milannews.it.
We are halfway across the river; so far, the journey has gone fairly well. But concentration must not be lost during the second half of the route.
