It’s transfer season so you know what that means…lots of rumors and reports and very little facts. So let’s start off the summer with a look at the roster, position group by position group, as we head into the summer.
First things first. Dest, Bakayoko, Diaz and Vranckx all went back to their parent clubs after being here on loan. Zlatan retired. Tatarusanu should probably do the same considering his contract has run out. Tonali has been sold for 70 million. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was prchased for 16 million and Marco Sportiello has been signed as a free agent. Also, I am going to assume we play a 4231 next year for this exercise. With that in mind, here we go.
Keepers
Maignan (2026) remains the starter, Sportiello (2027) a very improved backup and Mirante (2024) remains third choice. All good with the first team. Devis Vasquez remains on the team with his future up in the air. Andreas Jungdal remains a Milan player and likely will go on loan again. Noah Raveyre has been signed to start for the Primavera. I can’t see anything changing here.
Defense
Center Backs first. Tomori (2027), Thiaw (2027), Kalulu (2027), Kjaer (2024) and Gabbia (2026) look to be the main 5 barring any changes. Kalulu being the swiss army guy that can play anywhere across the back. More on him below. Milan have a perfect blend of youth, experience, and versatility here. Caldara is still technically a Milan player. Odds are he spends the summer finding a loan move till his contract FINALLY expires next summer.
Fullback we have Calabria (2025) and Florenzi (2025) on the right and Theo (2026) and FBT (2025) on the left. On the surface these appear set but I think there’s a chance of some parts moving. Calabria always feels like a step from disaster and we’ve seen Kalulu is really the better player. Also with Maldini gone I think Calabria has lost his best ally. Being home grown his sale would look great on the books. On the other hand Kalulu is younger, better and could command a much higher transfer fee. It would be no surprise to see him go for 35 million or more. That leaves the right side as a bit of a question mark. Not so much that we don’t know if we have a right back or not, but just that I could see some changes there. The left is fine. Theo is world class. Maybe the best LB on the planet. If FBT can find another home maybe we bring in a youngster.
Midfield
Oh boy. Here we go. Bennacer (2027) is the only returning starter and is probably out through the end of the year after undergoing knee surgery. Diaz, our only decent AM last year, has returned to Real Madrid. That means we are essentially starting over in the engine room of the team. Loftus-Cheek (2027) has been brought in to aid the cause. He will most likely fit into the double pivot. Besides him we currently have Pobega (2027), Krunic (2025), De Ketelaere (2027) and Adli (2026) on board. My guess is all of them remain rotation players or find jobs somewhere else. Same with Brescianinni (2024) and Maldini (2024). Both are out of contract next summer so look for each to be sold for a small fee or go on loan one last time.
Bottom line? There is a ton of work to be done here.
Forwards
On the left we have Leao (2028) and Rebic (2025). On the right it’s Saelemaekers (2026) and Messias (2024). Up top there’s Giroud (2024) and Origi (2026). Returning from loan are Colombo (2024) and Lazetic (2026) and signed from the Primavera is the fantastically named Marco Nasti. Of that last group odds are Lazetic and Nasti (Lecce perhaps?) go back out on loan. Colombo is another story. He’s just 21 and had a fine season at Lecce with 6 goals and 2 assists in 34 appearances. Lecce wanted him to stay but we said no. It’s likely he goes on loan again but with only a year left on his deal it’s possible he gets an extension this summer as well.
Looking at the starters and backups from last year I think the only players you can put in stone are Leao and Groud. Rebic and Origi will likely be almost given away if someone would just take their salaries. Messias likely plays out his contract as the backup RW or perhaps he’s loaned out/swapped as part of a deal for another player. That’s fine. Saelemaekers could net us 10-20 million from the right club. Either way we only need one backup RW, not two.
Considering all the rumors swirling around there appears to be a lot of work here to do as well.
Rumor Mill
HJULMAND 24 year old Danish center mid at Lecce. I loved this guy all year at Lecce so of course I’m thrilled to see his name pop up. He’d be an excellent Tonali replacement in a double pivot or could also be a CM in a 433. Big and strong and only 24 he would be a solid investment. Could possibly be part of a deal to bring Colombo back to Lecce or bring Nasti on loan.
REIJNDERS 24 year old Dutch midfielder from AZ Alkmaar. Big, tall center mid that racked up 7 goals and 12 assists last year at Alkmaar. It’s the Dutch league so offensive numbers are always a little bloated. Started every game in their run in the Conference League before ultimately losing to West Ham in the semi-finals. More offensive than Hjulmand but the two could make an interesting double pivot.Â
FRATTESI 23 year old Italian midfielder from Sassuolo. An interesting player for sure who will soon probably get regular time for the NT. What wards me off is that he’s already getting interest from Inter and Juve at 40 million or more. That Italian tax in Italy is steep. For that price you could probably get 2 players. Let someone else take that chance.
MCKINNIE 24 year old midfielder owned by Juve and finished on loan at Leeds last season. Um, no thank you.
CHUKWUEZE 24 year old Nigerian right winger at Villareal. Might be aiming a little high for us as there are reports of higher offers from elsewhere. Would come in and start right away for us.
PULISIC 24 year old American winger and attacking mid for Chelsea. His natural spot is LW but it appears Milan want him as the attacking mid. Starts at LW for the USMNT and can also play on the right as well. It appears this deal is close but he has offers from Lyon as well. Would step in right away as the attacking mid and would have some nice toys to play with alongside leao, whoever plays RW and behind Giroud. I think he’d be insane to turn that down. Only reservations are a mixed injury history, nothing serious, and playing a little out of position.
MUSAH 20 year old American AM/RW at Valencia. Might be a bit of project but would also be a solid investment. Could see him come in and deputize at the AM spot if we stay in a 4231. Perhaps under Pulisic?
KAMADA 26 year old Japanese attacking mid last at Frankfurt. Seemed a done deal when Maldini was still in charge but now feels far fetched. Not having a European passport hurts, something both Musah and Pulisic have. Almost zero chance he comes now.
TRAORE 27 year old Spanish winger last at Wolves. This is becoming a tired rumor that resurfaces every year as long as our RW situation is mess. No thanks.
LUKA ROMERO 18 year old Argentinian winger last at Lazio. A done deal according to several outlets but nothing official. There all sorts of tall tales about him but the bottom line is he played 221 minutes at Lazio and did very little. Smells a little like a Halilovic or Mastour. Silver lining is if he comes he won’t cost much and he can deputize behind whoever the starting RW is. A project for sure.
SCAMACCA 24 year old Italian striker at West Ham. Sparingly played this year after a big money move from Sassuolo last summer. Now looking to come back to Italy and being sought after by Roma and others. Like Frattesi, will cost extra as he is Italian. Also like Frattesi I’ll gladly let another club take that chance. I would file any Zaniolo rumors into the same category.
DIA 26 year old Senegalese striker at Salernitana. Salernitana just redeemed him from Villareal and may be looking to flip him for a profit. Rumor is they want upwards of 20 million for him. That feels steep but he did pot 16 for a mid table Salernitana outfit last year. That’s impressive work. I’m not sure he would be the successor to Giroud but he would certainly help bridge that gap and would bring some very good Serie A experience to the table.
Wrap Up
That’s where we are right now folks. As we are past the July 1 date of contracts expiring and renewing, expect the signings across Europe to start coming thick and fast now.Â
Cheers
Lisi