Alright! Back from vacation and ready to dive into Milan news and transfers!…***looks around…sees nothing going on***…or I guess we can just talk about a few things???
If anything, let’s set the baseline – who’s on the team right now and what’s needed this summer – and we can keep tabs as the weeks go by. One thing to keep in mind is that without European football to worry about (and the missing revenue), squad depth is a little less important although you don’t want to have to go all out shopping after the upcoming season if you qualify. So don’t expect a very large squad this season and I’ll do my best to factor that in below.
Let’s dive in.
Current Squad
Keepers
The keepers all remain the same right now. Mike Maignan (2026) remains the starter followed by Macro Sportiello (2027) and Primavera product Lorenzo Torriani (2030). Devis Vásquez (2026) was on loan to Empoli and he started last season well but who knows if Empoli is going to pick him up after getting relegated (it was basically a free club option). Either way he won’t be with Milan this upcoming season.
This is strong group even with the unsteady performances from Mike this past season. He stayed mostly healthy and Sportiello is a solid backup. Where things will get interesting is if Maignan does indeed leave for Chelsea, who are rumored to have made a serious offer for him before the Club World Cup but it wasn’t enough for Milan to sell. If he did leave I don’t know that you HAVE TO replace him, as I would be mostly fine letting Sportiello have it until Torriani is ready. I think the youngling has shown promise and would be worth a few starts next season should Maignan leave (I’d still give him some Coppa starts).
Way too early squad prediction: This one is tough…I’m going with Maignan leaves and they sign a Serie A veteran on the cheap to compete with Sportiello.
Defense
Let’s go Center Backs first. Matteo Gabbia (2026) seems to be the only safe one of the lot. Surely helps he’s Italian…quotas and all…but he’s also been very solid since returning from loan with Villareal midway through the 2023-24 season. Strahinja Pavlović (2028) appears to be staying as well while Fikayo Tomori (2027) and Malick Thiaw (2027) have both been rumored to leave although nothing I would deem credible at this point. Still, Tomori would be the one most likely go to based on what he could fetch and the team seems very interested in changing CB personnel. I don’t know that Allegri has much interest in the GKs but surely he wants at least one of the CBs to be one he knows and can trust, so expect him to be pushing for someone.
For fullback, Theo Hernández (2026) and Álex Jiménez (2028) ended last season as the starters and I would think are the frontrunners for respective spots again this season…but we all know Milan is at least entertaining offers for Theo since he’s on an expiring contract next season and no renewal agreements appear imminent. There were reports today from Fabrizio Romano that Theo ok’d a move to Saudi League Al Hilal, but he also reported that Musah to Napoli was more and less done and that was was 2 weeks ago. More to come here I guess.
Emerson Royal (2028) and Filippo Terraciano (2028) are the signed backups at the moment since Calabria is gone (Bologna), Florenzi’s contract expires now at the end of June 2025 (there are rumors he is being asked to stay as a coach but we’ll see. I like him and he would be a great locker room presence for sure), and Kyle Walker isn’t being redeemed. I really like Davide Bartesaghi (2030) and want to see him get more minutes and that becomes a really possibility if Theo does indeed leave (Jiménez can also play on this side if needed).
Way too early squad prediction: Theo leaves but no direct replacement is signed. I think it’s all over the place but I think Bartesaghi ended up winning the LB role, Jiménez at RB, and although I’ll discuss him with the attackers, Saelemaekers is coming back and rumors are that Allegri likes him and we could see him start at RB as well.
For the CBs, Gabbia and Pavlović stay, one of Tomori and Thiaw stay, and a new CB comes in with the expectation that he’s taking one of the 2 starting CB spots.
Midfield
This is the group that’s going to see the most change, and that’s not even counting Reijnders being sold.
So, let’s do some clean-up first: Yacine Adli (2026), Ismaël Bennacer (2027), and Tomasso Pobega (2027) are under contract but very unlikely to stay. Yunus Musah (2028) has been very strongly linked to Napoli but I am saddened there’s been little news around RLC (2027). I REALLY want him gone.
So who’s left??? Well, it’s Youssouf Fofana (2028) and then…*tumbleweed tumbles across your line of vision*…
Yep, our midfield is basically Fofana. Expect quite a few guys coming in here. Lifelong Milan fan Luka Modrić has been strongly linked to Milan and all signs point to this one happening. Yes, he’s older but it’s a great way for him to close out a great career and he still has a little left in the tank. Granit Xhaka has also been strongly rumored but nothing appears to be close as of today.
I don’t mind a veteran presence especially with Giroud gone and Zlatan being in over his head, but it feels like Milan is abandoning their young-and-promising-talent-acquisition philosophy and not exactly for the better. Yes, both the guys mentioned above are solid but not the next anchors for Milan to build around once the Pioli-era guys leave. It’s not lost on me that Milan has sold their two best and most valuable midfielders in the last 2+yrs (Tonali and Reijnders) but I would love to have some young Leão-esque talent waiting in the wings to fill in the void. And really, can you ever have too many quality midfielders?…(no, the answer is no).
Way too early squad prediction: Of that lot likely to leave, if any stay it’s going to be Pobega. I think Musah does leave and we have Fofana, Modric, RLC (because Milan can’t offload him), and one more new guy (maybe Xhaka?). I really want Mattia Liberali (2026) to get a run out but I don’t think Max is one to play teenagers…
Forwards
I think this group is whittled down but not much comes in aside from another striker unless another big sale happens.
The current group we have is Rafael Leão (2028), Christian Pulisic (2027), Santiago Giménez (2029), Noah Okafor (2028), and Samuel Chukwueze (2028). Teenager Francesco Camarda (2027) has a ton of promise but like my comment above, I don’t know that Allegri plays him.
Luka Jović had one more club option year but Milan is not picking it up. Riccardo Sottil is going back to Fiorentina, João Félix was on a dry loan, and as much as it disappoints me Tammy Abraham is not being redeemed (I’m telling you, for the likely price – one Saelemaekers – it was a hell of a deal!). Speaking of Saelemaekers, Alexis Saelemaekers (2027) is coming back from loan at Roma and appears to be in Allegri’s plans. I mean, sure, but I think another quality striker is in order but no, let’s make sure we have another poor-shooting winger getting minutes…
Way too early squad prediction: On top of the guys no being redeemed, I think one of Okafor or Chukwueze are likely gone, another Serie A-known quality is brought in (maybe Italian…need those quotas!), and another striker arrives. Who? Who knows. The quality of that striker I think depends entirely on if Theo is sold. Either way, Leão and Pulisic are the anchors here and Milan’s biggest marketing chips and they’re not going anywhere. Giménez could find success if Allegri plays negative football as it should provide a lot of transitional goal scoring opportunities, and if Giménez can do anything, it’s finish.
Summer Signings
Nada!
Rumor Mill
Some names with a sentence or two on each. Listed in order by the completely objective and scientific method of my loosely informed opinion of most likely to arrive:
CM LUKA MODRIĆ I think he’s coming…
Also, I don’t have much to say. You know him. He’s still got it even if the end is around the corner. Could definitely be a nice bridge to younger more promising player coming in in summer 2026 but would be a goal-scoring threat lacking with the sale of Tijjani Reijnders.
CF ALEKSANDAR MITROVIĆ Apparently there’s a 95% chance (according to Transfermarkt) of him arriving. He’s one of those older players (he’s 30) who would be coming in and taking minutes from Camarda and even Giménez that I’m not thrilled about. Sure, he spent his prime in the EPL or Championship but none of those EPL seasons strike me as prolific even if he had some success in the Championship. Then of course he’s been in the Saudi league the last 2 years and I just don’t know that it’s an upgrade. Screams bust to me. Should just keep Abraham, at least he knows the league.
DM GRANIT XHAKA Everything is pointing to this happening even if Transfermarkt has it currently at a 20% probability. He’s exactly what Milan needs in the midfield (in addition to Milan needing a goal-scoring presence), namely it would get Fofana out of the DM role (I think he was a big reason for the leaking of goals last season) and get him into more of a box-to-box role. Win-win.
DM SAMUELE RICCI Checks all the boxes: young (23), Italian, defensive midfielder. Solid when Milan played against him/Torino. Price is going to be the issue (currently valuation is somewhere around €30M). Would be a nice addition to be sure and like Xhaka it would get Fofana out of the DM role.
CM LEON GORETZKA Not even going to pretend to know much about him. What I can tell you is he’s another 30yr old (eye roll) who appears to have started about 3/4 of Bayern Munich’s games last season. Apparently his game is comparable (according to FBRef) to Mario Pašalić and Éderson of Atalanta. It also lists Real’s Valverde and Barca’s Frenkie de Jong but I’m not exactly sure those line up.
CF DUŠAN VLAHOVIĆ Notwithstanding Juventus sucking the joy of playing out of him, he was very prolific with Fiorentina and can definitely get back to that with a move away from the dirty rotten cheaters. The problem? Allegri is largely the one who killed the joy of playing for him.
I don’t know. I feel like Theo has to move for this to happen. Maybe a Maignan move would be enough. But as was mentioned in the comment section in the last post, his wages are high and unless his demands come down I just don’t see it happening. For what it’s worth, I like the player and think it could work…if Allegri allows it to work.
LW KINGSLEY COMAN Another Bayern Munich rumor. I wonder if the Thiaw to Bayern rumors are driving this? Anyway, this one’s not 30yrs old! (he’s 29…). FBRef says he’s comparable to Kvaratskhelia. What, so he can only use one foot?…
In all seriousness, his production doesn’t look too bad but the price (€30M) doesn’t seem right if his main position is LW. Out of the guys I’m including in the rumor mill, this one seems like the most likely to fall off.
Wrap Up
As we wrap up this first summer transfer post, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention I feel like Gerry & Co. are panicking and abandoning the Elliott philosophy that worked so well: young and promising that fit the project (it’s almost like Milan no longer have a project!…weird! It doesn’t look like it…*squints eyes*).
A lot of the guys Milan are linked to, yes some young guys, but a lot are older more established players likely slated to get a lot of minutes. It’s like we have Temu Conte in charge. Yes, we don’t get the headache and short-term success with long-term squad and financial books devastation, but we’re going to get a not-Scudetto ceiling and a bloated wage bill with hard to move guys. Smells like another banter era could be on the horizon.
Equally concerning for me, and I briefly mentioned this earlier, is that Milan is likely to lose both Liberali and Camarda if they don’t get first team minutes and soon. There’s already rumors of Liberali waiting to re-sign with his contract expiring in 2026. We all want Milan youth products on the first team for a bunch of reasons but it feels like that is slipping away. At any rate, it’s something to keep an eye on as we move through the summer mercato and preseason.
Alright, not a bad one out the gate. I’m sure I missed some things but wanted to get something posted that shared my thoughts as we enter the last week of June. Throw down what you’re thinking or what I missed down in the comment section.
Forza Milan
gillis