Are you guys ready?! Another summer of reloading the squad, another new coach at the helm. Last season…not exactly what we were expecting. Will this season be any different?
Well, to answer these questions I have reached out to our old friend…old family member, Michael Lisi, aka Nonno, and our friend Pete Acquaviva, founder of Max Allegri’s Favorite Blog. Lisi you all know extremely well, no need for intros there. As for Pete, on top of joining us right when the summer mercato kicked off for a summer preview, Pete is someone I discovered from Elaine’s Milan Obsession site, as he and Elaine would do a podcast episode every now and then. I discovered from there that Pete had a tactical blog and I followed it for a long time, up until it closed up shop kind of around when Allegri left Milan. Well, with Allegri’s return, Pete has resumed blogging, inspired by his love/hate of Mad Max. As always, give Pete’s blog a visit when you get a chance, you’ll see he’s always got something good to say and a wonderful prose to match.
Let’s dive in!
Season Preview
The first thing everyone wants to talk about as a new season begins is the summer mercato. What did your team do, did they do enough, what are you most excited about? So let’s start there: what are your thoughts on Milan’s summer mercato?
Michael Lisi: After the toxic atmosphere of last year it was obvious that a total overhaul was needed. Sporting director, coach and personnel. Love that Tare is a shrewd business guy. Great call there by the top end. He always had to make something from nothing at Lazio. Max is another great call. He comes in with serious clout and isn’t going to take any shit. Finally I think moving Theo is addition by subtraction. Estupiñan has defended more in a handful of friendlies than Theo did in the last 2 years. Good riddance.
Pete: I think it’s truly funny that the window began with Furlani saying we don’t need to sell, and now €200m later, that statement is even more crass. Tare was excellent at selling at Lazio, a little less good at buying. Fair enough, compared to Moncada, this is the Lord’s work. Jashari is a future star, I love that move, and De Winter also is a quality move. But honestly, I get they won’t have CL revenue, but I’m underwhelmed. This squad is missing Silvio’s gift from the Presidente. And no, not Vlahović. Leaving the striker so late is a strategic choice, but IMO a risky proposition. I think Jackson is the most appealing option of those rumored, I just worry the financial guys will say we can take Embolo and turn a profit.
Michael Lisi: I’m still not sure why we are looking for some huge name when we just spent 32 million on Giménez 7 months ago. Also BTW Berlu is dead.
gillis15: RIP bunga-bunga…
Pete: Dead, but soon to be here in spirit with Galliani..
I do like Gimenez but the reality is there’s no other striker and if Max wants to play a 3-5-2 even with what we have we need more cover. I think with Vlahovic, some toys are broken. You can try all you want to fix them, some of them are just irreparable. He’s a reasonable one to try on, but not at the cost he wants.
Lisi, are there any names you do like and want Milan to target? As you know and Pete pointed out, there’s only 1 striker on the squad.
Michael Lisi: I’ll be honest, no. Mostly because I totally checked out of twitter and the transfer circus this summer. Also if we go 352 with Leão, Giménez, Pulisic and Chukwueze in attack, how many more strikers do we need?
Pete: Probably just one more, I don’t know about you but the less Chukwueze, the better.
Michael Lisi: Agreed. I said this on the blog when we bought him and I’ll repeat it here. I think we bought him too old and gave him too high a salary to move him on. It was bad business and now we are stuck with a 4th choice 26 year old non starter that makes something like 5 million a year. A luxury we cannot afford. Given the choice I would have kept Okafor. He still has some serious upside.
Pete: While I hear you it’s probable that Chuk leaves for a minimal fee or for free with a resale later, I think if you can make 20m out of Okafor you just do that immediately. He would honestly have been a decent backup option to Giménez, so at least it makes more sense to bring in that forward presence.
Lecce just sold Krstović for 25m, that’s someone I would like to have seen as opposed to these Hjolund, Vlahović rumors.
Michael Lisi: 1000%. Made some good dinero betting on Krstović over the last few years. That guy did some amazing things playing virtually on his own in that attack.
Pete: On the plus side, more room for Camarda (with Krstović leaving). On the minus side, I feel like Atalanta rarely miss on purchases in that range.
*Addendum* Asked this question after Milan and Boniface agreed on a loan: Boniface is coming on a reported €5M loan with a €24M option. Was this the smartest move to make considering the other rumored options? How do you feel about it?
Michael Lisi: I fell like the department of redundancy department struck. I guess a loan isn’t horrible though. Better than jumping off the deep end. Just 42 appearances in 2 years is a concern. Though I’ll admit 22 goals in those 42 appearances is nice. Then again it’s Germany. That would be like 14 in 42 in Italy.
I’d also add that competition for any position is always a good thing.
Pete: It seems like they’re adding a third striker, so all in favor of a high risk high reward option. I get people are like he’s injured a lot…Well ok so sub him out. If he’s the one option it’s an issue it’s not like if he’s injured the team can’t play a striker in his place.
You wanted to bet on Santi Giménez? Well this does that. You want upside, yeah. Here you go.
Michael Lisi: If that duo gets you 20 combined goals in the league it’s a home run.
Ok, one last question on the new guys/summer mercato: What summer signing do you think has the biggest impact this season? If different, who surprises us the most?
Pete: Jashari. He’s an absolute stud and I’m genuinely excited to watch him play. If Modrić makes year two then he’s gonna be in the running as well. Called it out earlier but think De Winter can be a rotational starter by October.
Michael Lisi: I thinks it’s possible Estupiñan, De Winter, Jashari, and Ricci are all 1st teamers by October 1. They all look the part and the opportunity to cement places is there. If I had to pick one for impact it’s Ricci. Simply because he knows the league and is now surrounded by far superior pieces.
Also I will gleefully use the nickname ‘Never nervous Pervis’ repeatedly this season.
Pete: That’s a tremendous nickname.
Michael Lisi: 80s college hoops deep cut there.
So all these new pieces. What will the formation or formations be for Max Allegri this season? Will we get Juve-Allegri, with conservative somewhat boring football, or Milan-Allegri, with a fun open style of play (yes I know those early Milan-Allegri teams were stacked offensively)?
Pete: You’d hope he keeps it more aesthetic than those soulless Juve sides. I’m expecting three at the back, especially considering the makeup of the roster at this moment in time. I hope we get more Modrić, Ricci, Jashari, and a little less RLC and Musah. But really the trimming of a lot of this dead wood should make the ideas more clear and within a few weeks we should be able to judge the success of the team this season. I don’t think the possible arrival of the striker would change much about how the team plays, to be honest.
Michael Lisi: Been saying all summer this has been heading towards a 352 or 343. I’m all for that. I think the roster reflects that in almost every way. I still question exactly how Leão fits in all that. Cutting in from wide and shooting or crossing was his bread and butter. Is he really a number 9? To me the jury is still out. If he’s not. That’s a big problem.
Pete: It seems like allegri is determined to get the most out of Leao though. In a summer they shipped out 200m in players, he made a stink to keep Rafa, so I’m confident there’s some ideas floating around.
Ok, predictions. Where will Milan finish the season? Is the Scudetto realistically in play for Milan this season?
Michael Lisi: Top 4 easily. Within hailing distance of a Scudetto on March 1st. Top 3 defense in the league. Pulisic double digit goals and assists. Leão underwhelms. Giménez leading goal scorer.
Pete: Third, one real competition helps focus the team, I see a Conte-like improvement domestically. I have a sneaking suspicion there’s a surprise in store and then maybe there’s more ceiling to be realized.
As of right now, predictions for top 7 in the table…what you got?
Pete:
Napoli
Milan
Juve
inter
Roma
Atalanta
Fiorentina
Big Moise Kean season.
Michael Lisi: That’s wonderful…When he’s playing for us.
I like what Pete has there. Roma are always over rated and finish 5th or 6th. Gasp wont change that. I do think Inter might be in trouble but I don’t think there’s anyone able to squeeze them out of the top 4. An idiot should be able keep them in the CL spots. Let’s go with:
Juve
Napoli
Milan
Inter
Bologna
Roma
Fiorentina
Bologna is still rock solid.
Juric is fired by Christmas and Atalanta finish 9th.
Pete: I would love that, enough Atalanta.
Who's getting relegated?
Michael Lisi: The two that came up not named Sassuolo. The third is Lecce finally goes down.
Pete: Cremonese, Pisa, Verona
Alright, last set of questions: team MVP? Best newcomer? Most improved? Biggest disappointment?
Pete:
Pulisic MVP.
Jashari best newcomer since it feels unfair to put it a ballon d’or winner.
Giménez most improved.
Athakame biggest disappointment just because I think Jiménez starts sooner than later.
Michael Lisi:
Pulisic MVP.
Maignan close second. Newcomer Ricci.
Improved Pavlović. Dark horse Jiménez if he earns a starting role.
Disappointment, Leão. He has to show up in the league and traditionally his best nights were in Europe. He can’t put up only 8 goals again, but probably will.
Wrap Up
That was awesome! These are always a blast to do and as you might guess we have a lot of fun doing it. Few things in life better than smartass quips and talking the ins-and-outs of your favorite team.
Lastly, as you probably noticed, I didn’t really contribute to this one. That was on purpose. As the sole member of the blog now, you’ve been and will continue to get plenty of opinions and thoughts about all things Milan from me but I also really value other insights and perspectives as I certainly don’t have a monopoly on the truth. The predictions I gave last season certainly proved that!
First league game is this Saturday at 2:45pm EST/6:45pm GMT. I’ll get a matchday post up so be on the lookout. Until then…
FORZA MILAN
gillis