A Champions League-level transfer window...
Or, if you prefer, a transfer window aimed at avoiding missing out on Europe's elite competition for the third consecutive season. The January transfer window is still some way off, but Milan, meaning its management team, is doing its homework to ensure it is ready from December 28 onwards, the date from which it will be possible to register new players.
Unlike last year, when there were no funds available to invest and Füllkrug arrived on a free loan to address the emergency in attack, this time the club based on Via Aldo Rossi will invest. The principle will be the same as the one applied a few weeks ago when €150 million (excluding bonuses) was spent on the transfer fees of Ramos, Gila and Moreira alone: signing players worthy of Milan, capable of handling the weight of the shirt, accustomed to fighting for major objectives, preferably leaders or potential leaders.
Cardinale intends to bring the club back to the top and hopes to lift a trophy as early as this season. That is why he will also invest when the transfer window reopens, provided the right conditions are in place.
In other words, the RedBird chief knows that major clubs are unlikely to let their strongest players leave in January, but the intention is to complete a squad that, after Gila and Diawara, did not receive an additional defensive reinforcement in the summer (Tomori was reintegrated) and that will now have to do without the injured Saelemaekers for several months.
Milan, Inacio in pole position
It makes sense to start again with the reinforcements that had been identified (but ultimately did not materialise) in the summer, namely the first-choice targets of the club and the coach. Deals that were studied and "approved" by Cardinale and his men, writes 'Gazzetta dello Sport'.
In defence, the priority is Gonçalo Inacio: Amorim would gladly coach him again after having brought him through at Sporting, and the centre-back, who became captain following Hjulmand's departure, is no longer considered untouchable.
Let's explain: last December, he renewed his contract until 2030, including a salary increase, and so far he has started every match this season. However, already towards the end of the summer transfer window, there was no major resistance in Lisbon when Milan approached president Varandas with an offer exceeding €40 million.
The green light, which Sporting had made conditional on finding a suitable replacement, never came, but in January the story could have a different ending.
The player is, in fact, receptive to the Rossoneri's interest: at the beginning of the season, he showed a certain nervousness, which may have been one of the causes of his two own goals (one in the Champions League and one in the league), and he is now unhappy about being considered a reserve by the Portuguese national team, where he is always called up (including for the most recent World Cup) but has not made an appearance since the beginning of June.
Having turned 25, a change of scenery is not an option he rules out. On the contrary, the prospect of testing himself in Serie A appeals to him.
It remains to be seen whether Sporting will be willing to sell him immediately or whether they will only want to part ways with him next season.
Inacio is a left-footed player who is at his best in the build-up phase (which is why Milan would find him particularly useful) and who perhaps lacks something in aerial duels. Under Amorim, he played in a back three; under Borges (now), he plays in a back four, where he seems less comfortable.
Endrick lined up
The situation regarding the Brazilian is clearer, because Real Madrid are only willing to let him leave on loan, at most with a very high option to buy and a buy-back clause. In practice, the same arrangement adopted for Nico Paz with Como, as pointed out by 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' in this morning's print edition.
In fact, Endrick has informed his agents that, if he does not find playing time under Mourinho in the coming months, he would like to try an experience in Serie A. And Cardinale, who has excellent relations with Roc Nation, is convinced that he is in pole position.
