The winter transfer window is now officially open. From today, 2 January 2026, clubs are allowed to negotiate deals, even though some moves had already been agreed and were only waiting to be made official. One such case is Niclas Füllkrug, who from today is officially a Milan player and will also travel to Cagliari with his new teammates. With the attack now sorted, attention at Casa Milan is turning to the defence, another area in need of reinforcement during this January window.
Quality and numbers:
Milan need to strengthen their back line, which has nevertheless shown a clear improvement compared to last season thanks to Allegri’s work, mainly for two reasons. The first is quality: raising the technical level and overall competitiveness of the department. The second is numbers. At present, the undisputed starters are Tomori, Gabbia and Pavlovic, with only two backups, De Winter and Odogu, who are not strong enough to carry the burden of the bench on their own. Even in a situation like tonight’s, with Gabbia injured and Pavlovic doubtful due to a minor issue, Allegri will have to find solutions and rely on his creativity, whether from the start or during the match.
Kim Min-jae:
According to this morning’s edition of 'La Gazzetta dello Sport', the top name on Milan’s shortlist for a defensive reinforcement is Kim Min-jae, the South Korean centre-back currently at Bayern Munich, who previously played in Italy with Napoli during the season of the club’s historic third Scudetto. Signed by the Bavarians in the summer of 2023 for €57 million, Kim has been seeing even less playing time this season than in the previous two. His place at the 2026 World Cup is not in doubt, but the player wants to arrive in peak condition and for that reason is open to a move away from Germany in January.
From a technical and tactical standpoint, he would be an ideal profile for the Rossoneri, who would also be adding an experienced player to the squad. The main obstacles are financial. One concerns Kim’s wages, which are well above Milan’s usual scale. The other is Bayern Munich’s stance: it is not so much about letting the Korean leave, but about the formula, with the German club pushing for a permanent transfer rather than a loan with an option to buy.
