A big new signing and Milan are still training away and most of the squad is available for Allegri. With an Asian trip a little more than a week away, lots of question marks surround the situation at fullback (both sides) and striker. Unless any new player signs in the next week, they likely won’t make the Asian preseason tour and it’s going to be tough to gauge their quality and that of the team. Management is surely handcuffing the squad and Allegri by not getting him the tools he needs to succeed…right?
Current News
The first item to cover this week is again a new signing: Luka Modrić! No stranger to trophies, walking into the trophy room at Milan HQ probably didn’t have the same impact as with most players, as he won 28 different trophies with Real Madrid in 13 years, and that doesn’t even include his Ballon d’Or in 2018. While Paolo Maldini should still be with the team, Modrić should have a comparable (although not quite the same) impact in the locker room and on the pitch.
There’s obviously no need for me to go into the player, as all of you know him. His versatility to be an advanced attacking or deep-lying playmaker brings flexibility for Allegri in the midfield and will help replace some offensive bite lost with Tijjani Reijnders move to Manchester City. For those of you that believe the midfield wins games, Milan’s first two moves this summer are to strengthen an average one further depleted by the just mentioned Reijnders sale. I don’t know if Milan have enough there if Allegri wants to run a 4-3-3 but the team is stronger then they were 3-4 weeks ago.
In other news there’s…not a lot. We’ll cover some of the transfer stuff below and the team is training, preparing for their Asian preseason tour. I’ll share the schedule again below, before the mercato sections, but the first official preseason game is July 23rd.
Some rumors I’ve been hearing are that Marco Sportiello has asked to leave and Atalanta appear close to signing him. He hasn’t gotten much time as Maignan has managed to stay healthy and Sportiello is most likely looking for regular game action. Sportiello’s rumored replacement is Fiorentina’s Pietro Terracciano, another Italian, so that should keep the homegrown quota box checked. It should be noted that Milan and Sportiello are looking at terminating the contract, so don’t expect a sale. Not sure if Milan will have to agree to a transfer fee for Terracciano but I’d just assume sticking the Torriani kid in there if needed, although I know relying on such a young kid makes some of you nervous.
Finally, LB Archie Brown has apparently turned down Milan’s offer at the last minute and has decided to go to Fenerbahçe. This is not a huge loss by any means, as it was a deal worth a rumored €8M and he likely wasn’t going to be a day 1 starter. Still, kind of depressing that Milan got turned down for Fenerbahçe…
Training News
Ricci has gotten in his first practices and the team is working hard in the summer heat, including doing some joint training with the Milan Futuro. I read that in some of the scrimmages Saelemaekers is at RB and while that makes me happy that Royal appears to be on the outs, should we be concerned that Allegri might be thinking that Saelemaekers is their best bet right now at RB?
Elsewhere, Okafor and Chukwueze are still training with the team despite rumors they’re on the way out. Pobega is getting a good look and could end up staying, when combined with Okafor and Chuk, that 4-3-3 is looking more and more likely with extra midfielders and apparently a whittling down of wingers. I’m also wondering who’s going to take up minutes up top between now and when Giménez arrives…does Milan have literally any other striker right now besides Colombo? Colombo will for sure eat up some preseason minutes before being shipped out on loan again but he’s the only guy I know of on the roster with any top flight experience now that Camarda is at Lecce. Interesting times…
Here’s the preseason schedule again for your convenience:
– July 23: Arsenal v Milan – Singapore
– July 26: Liverpool v Milan – Hong Kong
– July 31: Perth Glory v Milan – Perth, Australia
– August 9: Leeds United v Milan – Dublin, Ireland
I’ll post times once we have them and I’ll probably post a matchday post. So, be on the lookout for that next week but I’ll have another Milan Musings next Monday as well.
Summer Signings/Transfer Activity
Signings
– DM SAMUELE RICCI (Torino, €23M + €2M add-ons) – Signed until June 30, 2029 (€2M + bonuses per year)
– CM LUKA MODRIĆ (Free, last at Real Madrid) – Signed until June 30, 2026, option for 2027 (€3.5M per year)
Departures
– RB/CB PIERRE KALULU – Juventus, €14.3M
– CB MARCO PELLEGRINO – Boca Juniors, €3.5M
– MF TIJJANI REIJNDERS – Manchester City, €55M plus €10M easy add-ons, plus €5M more difficult add-ons
– CF FRANCESCO CAMARDA – Lecce, €3M buy option, €4M buy back clause
– LB THEO HERNÁNDEZ – Al Hilal, €25M
Total Outgoing: €23M/possible €25M
Total Incoming: €97.8M/possible €112.8M
Total Overall: +€74.8M
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:
MF ARDON JASHARI With Modrić signing, this is now at the top of the probability list here at the Fossa! I saw that Milan made an offer of up to €37M with all add-ons, although some would be tough to trigger and would likely still be in that €35M range reported here last week. Apparently he’s still pushing for this move so let’s see what happens.
*From last week: One more thing: there’s been some confusion (including from me) about what type of player he is and what he will bring. I did read up and he appears to be a sturdy, high work rate midfielder with good ball carrying and vision. The most common comparisons I saw were to Barella and Declan Rice. Click here for a nice little summary.
RB GUÉLA DOUÉ This is the hottest rumor at the moment. Milan is said to have offered €15M but Strasbourg reportedly want €30M. I did also read they made an increased offer of €18M but I’m not sure about its validity. Considering TransferMarkt has his value at €18M, the €18M Milan offered should be enough but it appears Strasbourg is trying to milk this. Let’s see what happens.
RB MARC PUBILL The newest name in the rumor mill is this guy, a 22 year old Spaniard from Almería of Spain’s second division. I don’t know much about him but the going rate according to Twitter is he’s worth about €15M while TransferMarkt has his value at €4M, so bit of a disconnect there. Another disconnect I’m feeling is why would a young player from a second division team be the solution at RB on a team trying to win the Scudetto? I mean, he’s not Pierre Kalulu…right? (full transparency: he does have 38 starts in the Spanish top flight with Levante and Almería)
LB MELVIN BARD With the Archie Brown move off, Melvin Bard’s name has gathered some steam. The 24 year old Frenchman has been at Nice since 2021 and has logged over 150 games in the top flight and has a price tag of €15M according to TransferMarkt, so right in Milan’s sweet spot. TransferMarkt Similar Players says he is comparable to Diogo Dalot of Manchester United and Rasmus Kristensen of Eintracht Frankfurt.
GK PIETRO TERRACCIANO Another Terracciano on the team? Maybe! As mentioned above, he appears to be Marco Sportiello’s targeted replacement should his move to Atalanta come to fruition. Not exactly a world beater and a definite downgrade to Sportiello, this is the type of move that a team makes hoping their #1 doesn’t get hurt combined with a light schedule that doesn’t include Europe. Feels risky but should Maignan get injured then maybe the younger Torriani gets some playing time???
CF VICTOR BONIFACE It’s sounding like Allegri really wants a traditional #9 type of player up top and while the Vlahović rumor makes sense, so does this one. But that €40M price tag on this makes me think it’s not going to happen. Probably better off just renting Vlahović for a season.
CF DUŠAN VLAHOVIĆ I’m keeping this one at the bottom based on probability but the longer Milan doesn’t sign a striker, the more I think this happens even if just for a season. Would be a hell of a player to bring in but again, not cheap.
Wrap Up
Ok, a bit of quiet week but with preseason games starting next week maybe we start to see more movement in the mercato. Until next time…
Forza Milan
gillis