Substantial changes were made to AC Milan’s midfield department last summer after the sale of Sandro Tonali, and yet there could be another revolution of sorts this year too.
Milan head into the summer transfer window in search of a more defensive-minded midfielder who can bring some balance to the department given the abundance of more natural box-to-box players like Tijjani Reijnders, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ismael Bennacer.
While that might be what dominates the headlines in that particular area, there is also the chance that some rather notable names will depart in order to shift the ballast into the right places, freeing up funds and spots in the squad.
Exit candidates
According to what is being reported by our colleagues at SempreMilan.it, there are at least a couple of stand-out profiles when it comes to those who might leave, and it begins with Ismael Bennacer who has been at the club since 2019.
He would be strongly tempted by the idea of moving to Saudi Arabia despite the fact he is entering his prime. The Algerian midfielder would be tempted by a huge salary of course, but as has been documented before he would also have no issues living and playing there.
Bennacer was a key part of the team roughly one year ago but a serious injury and then an underwhelming return to the team has changed the situation, and it is possible that Stefano Pioli might ask Al-Ittihad to re-sign him.
The former Empoli man is under contract with Milan until June 2027 and has got a €50m release clause. The feeling is that Milan would be willing to negotiate a deal that sees him move for less than the value of said clause, around €30m per our information.
The other name is Yacine Adli, who has several suitors in Europe but is not currently considering leaving Milan in the summer. What could make the difference will be the meeting that the Frenchman will have with Fonseca on the first day of the training camp in a few days.
During those talks, the Portuguese coach might tell Adli that he is not part of the project and will instruct him to look for a new club as soon as possible. From his sale, Milan intends to earn no less than €15m which would generate a capital gain.
As was reported by MilanNews among other sources in the past fortnight, there is the interest from Torino and Fiorentina in Tommaso Pobega. The midfielder is open to listening to any proposals from other clubs because he knows he is at the stage of his career where he needs to play consistently.
For now it is the Granata who have ‘made moves’ to sign the Milan academy graduate, and it would be a return there for him given that he had a loan spell there, but Fiorentina have just hired Raffaele Palladino as their new head coach and could try for Pobega too. Thus, he could be a third exit.
Fresh blood
Initially it seems as though Milan were pushing for Mats Wieffer of Feyenoord. Fabrizio Romano mentioned Milan as suitors, but his latest update stated that the Dutchman will be swapping red and white for blue and white rather than red and black.
That is because Brighton have agreed on deal to sign him from Feyenoord. The final fee will be £30m plus add-ons, which means that the Rotterdam club will be getting a guaranteed €35m, and Milan must find other targets.
According to our information, however, Geoffrey Moncada never really pushed for Wieffer because he has another dream name in mind: Youssouf Fofana, the midfield star for Monaco who is currently away with the French national team at Euro 2024.
The management asked Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud for some feedback on Fofana and the response was positive, while the player himself would be strongly tempted by the idea of moving to Milan in the summer.
However, it remains to be seen what formula Milan will use to snatch Fofana from Monaco. He has a contract expiring in 2025 but they want €25-30m, a figure that the Rossoneri want to try and negotiate downwards.
Seeing that Juventus have already signed Douglas Luiz and Khephren Thuram for their midfield and with Teun Koopmeiners potentially to follow, Milan might feel pressure to do additional business and it is the Bianconeri that has attracted their attention.
MilanNews reported yesterday that the interest in Rabiot is ‘real, true, concrete, quite alive’. The Frenchman – also currently playing for his country at the 2024 European Championship – is tipped to depart Juve and would be available on a free.
Rabiot’s salary would be high by Milan’s internally imposed limits, but it could be helped by the Growth Decree. Just like with Fofana, the club can rely on Maignan and Theo to perhaps try engineer a deal.
Other options remain in contention too, and in recent days the name of Andre Trindade has arisen. The Brazilian midfielder currently plays for Fluminense and topped the statistical charts last season in two key areas.
Déjà vu
Cast your minds back one year. Less 48 hours after the win against Verona at San Siro to close the 2022-23 season in what was also an emotional farewell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it was confirmed that Paolo Maldini and his right-hand man Ricky Massara were being sacked..
A period of uncertainty followed in which the reasons for the fall-out between Maldini and RedBird Capital were debated, as well as mystery regarding who would be taking over the reins ahead of a vital summer window.
The answer is CEO Giorgio Furlani and chief scout Geoffrey Moncada, whose first major piece of action was to complete a club-record sale. It wasn’t just any exit though, it was fan favourite and supposed future Milan icon Sandro Tonali, which created another violent storm.
A number of sources reported that Milan sold Tonali to Newcastle for a figure of €80m including bonuses but it left them with the task of rebuilding a midfield that was actually looking to add pieces such as a Franck Kessie replacement rather than subtract further pillars.
In the end around €60m between fixed fees and bonuses was spent on Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tijjani Reijnders and Yunus Musah. The variety was obvious not just in age (27, 24 and 20 respectively at the time) but also in profile.
Loftus-Cheek ended up becoming the attacking midfielder under Stefano Pioli, Reijnders a box-to-box player who could also create from deep, and Musah a more versatile all-action player albeit still raw in certain areas.
The problem that emerged was mentioned at the start of this piece: the lack of a traditional No.6. By that we mean a player more suited to breaking up play than advancing it, who leads in areas like tackles and interceptions rather than key passes and dribbles.
If players like Bennacer and Adli depart this summer there is a chance to reshuffle the deck in midfield again and the financial margins to provide a trio that best suits Fonseca’s style. It might be seen as a second straight summer of overhaul, yet once again there might be no choice.