The victory over Manchester United was an important breath of fresh air for both the team and the overall atmosphere, easing some of the tension around the squad: finally, there were positive signs in terms of the way the team played, both collectively and individually. Chukwueze was the man of the match, putting in a genuinely encouraging performance. Who knows whether he will turn out to be a pleasant surprise or remain an unfinished player. He certainly has a great opportunity.
Such tension has an engineered cousin worth naming honestly. On Shuffle, its online slots casino titles are gathered into one catalog, and the rhythm of a reel spin, the wind-up, the near-miss, the occasional hit, runs on a loop of anticipation that behaves a lot like those last refreshes before the window shuts. The difference, and it is the whole difference, is that a slot has a mathematical edge deliberately built in, while deadline day only feels rigged.
There were also excellent responses from Gonçalo Ramos. The former PSG striker showed that he can both link up with his teammates and operate as a true No. 9. When he gets a good chance, he either puts it away or provides an assist. It is right to take the positives from what we saw, but Milan must keep their feet on the ground and not think that everything is fine as it is. Far from it. That would be a serious mistake. Even after the clear-out, there are still too many players who do not fit Amorim's principles. This is particularly true when it comes to building from the back, an area that will require significant work and some serious reflection.
Milan's biggest concern under Amorim
Too often during pre-season, the Rossoneri have lost the ball while playing out from their own area, leading to penalties, goals conceded or major risks. Milan remain a work in progress. To genuinely raise the level, they would need at least three quality signings: a defender who is comfortable on the ball, an attacking midfielder and a wide midfielder.
Every team has encountered difficulties in the transfer market, but none are currently as far behind as Milan when it comes to the squad they wanted to build for this project. Amorim has not been given the support he deserved. And even if the club manages to achieve all of its transfer objectives, both in terms of departures and arrivals, over the next 15 days, it will still take several months before Milan become a genuine team. Once again, the importance of timing has been culpably ignored. Leaving it until the last minute to overhaul the squad is a glaring mistake. We have never seen a club decide to cut seven or eight players on 13 August. On top of that, they have made the whole process public: what is the benefit? The risk is that several players will ultimately leave on loan.
Some claimed that this would not be another revolution. Instead, it absolutely will be, with the result that every year Milan have to rebuild a new group which, inevitably, cannot be as well-knit as one made up of players who know each other inside out. "But there were rotten apples," some said. Milan News borrowed a thought from Leonardo Martinelli: "Apples are not born rotten; they become rotten. The apple tree needs to be cut down."
