AC Milan closed the summer transfer window by rebuilding the squad: 10 new players arrived, along with the return of Alexis Saelemaekers from loan. At the same time, CEO Giorgio Furlani and sporting director Igli Tare completed 30 departures.
The club’s management carried out a massive operation to deliver a lean, competitive squad to coach Massimiliano Allegri. The feeling, however, is that the squad is somewhat lacking, especially in certain areas, to meet the season’s objectives.
As a reminder, on Sunday, August 24, following the home defeat (1-2) to Cremonese, Allegri rushed to 'Casa Milan' for an urgent transfer meeting. On that occasion, the ex Juventus coach told Furlani, Tare, and technical director Geoffrey Moncada that if the squad remained as it was, he could not guarantee qualification for the 2026-27 Champions League. That qualification is the club’s minimum target to judge the season successful and to avoid future financial problems. Allegri also made three requests to the management in that meeting.
He wanted Milan to complete three transfers between August 24 and September 1, one per department. He asked for an experienced central defender to lead the backline in his 3-5-2. For midfield and attack, he named Adrien Rabiot and Dušan Vlahović. For defense, Milan targeted Manuel Akanji first, but he chose Inter, so the club turned to Joe Gomez, who rejected the move, and finally invested in the German David Odogu, born in 2006, which did not fully meet Allegri’s request. Rabiot arrived, pleasing Allegri. Vlahović, however, was blocked due to the high cost of the transfer and the salary demands.
Regardless of how the first part of the season unfolds, Milan already plans to act in the winter transfer window to provide Allegri with the 3-4 reinforcements needed to boost the squad. Currently, the squad lacks a central defender (Allegri’s targets are Kim Min-Jae from Bayern Munich and Merih Demiral from Al-Ahli), a right-back (Juanlu Sánchez from Sevilla and Arnau Martínez from Girona are options), a left-back (interest in Andrew Robertson of Liverpool has been reported), and, of course, a top striker. Allegri likes Christopher Nkunku, but he does not want to give up the tactical advantage of a traditional number 9 in the box.
In January, Milan intends to pursue Vlahović again.
In fact, the 2000-born Serbian, whose contract with Juventus expires on June 30, 2026, could cost less in the winter and accept a salary closer to Milan’s budget. The club wants to act early to avoid a scenario where Vlahović, as a free agent, attracts Barcelona and Inter at the end of the season.
If that fails, Tare would try for Artem Dovbyk from Roma, already discussed during the summer window in a potential swap with Santiago Giménez. The 1997-born Ukrainian is not in Gian Piero Gasperini’s plans in Rome and could move on loan with an option to buy, unless Roma and Dovbyk reconsider a deal that boosts the Mexican striker’s scoring form. In that case, the swap could become possible.
