Taking a look at Milan's January window 2022 - from official business and concrete links to interesting stories
Welcome to the first edition of SempreMilan’s brand new newsletter. In conjunction with the website, we will aim to provide you with a more in-depth but summarised understanding of the happenings at Milan. If you aren’t a fan of browsing a lot of news, or prefer reading longer pieces, then this is the place for you.
In this edition, we will take a look at the Rossoneri’s January transfer window, starting with the official business that has been done. After that, we will take a look at some of the concrete links that emerged (and thus not everyday reports) during the month and what they could lead to in the future. We will also share some interesting stories and take a look at the most ludicrous stories of the month. So, let’s dive in…
Signings
Marko Lazetic
Deal: Permanent transfer
Fee: €4m, €1m in bonuses and a 10% resale clause
This signing - the only one of the January window - came a bit out of nowhere but it makes perfect sense in hindsight. The news broke shortly after it emerged that Milan had failed to reach an agreement with Monaco over Pietro Pellegri, who has since left the Rossoneri to join Torino instead.
Lazetic is thus a direct replacement of the Italian youngster and the first impressions are indeed very positive. Despite being just 18-years-old, it seems he's worth every penny and you can read more about him in our interview with a Red Star Belgrade expert.
One of the interesting excerpts from that interview is the following: “He has serious skills, especially when it comes to technique. He directly attacks space and the goal. Like Vlahović, he was dominant in the youth categories. He has a strong ego and personality, sometimes he is selfish, he likes to be the boss of the team. He will not be allowed to do that in Milan. At least while Ibrahimović is there! Milan got a great talent for little money.”
One honourable mention for this transfer window is centre-back Cathal Heffernan, who has joined Milan on an initial loan deal for the Primavera team. Milan are expected to make the deal permanent in the summer and the fee will be five figures, as regulated by the youngster’s contract at Cork City.
Heffernan landed in Italy in the middle of last week with his family to finalise his move to Milan and he had the contracts in front to sign, but then negotiations between Milan and the Irish club hit a roadblock. The player and his representatives then had to head back to Ireland thinking that the move was completely off, but the Rossoneri made contact again on Friday afternoon and an agreement was finally reached between the two clubs on Sunday.
Sales and loan exits
Andrea Conti
Deal: Permanent transfer
Fee: Undisclosed
Destination: Sampdoria
The right-back made his first appearance of the season in the game against Roma earlier in January, playing just 12 minutes. It was enough, however, to secure him a new destination as Sampdoria came forward.
It was first reported that it would be a six-month loan but the official statement from Sampdoria clearly said a permanent move. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, as Conti's contract with Milan will expire this summer. A weight off the Rossoneri's wage bill.
The fee of the transfer has not been revealed but it should only be a minimum compensation, which also only will be paid out if Sampdoria avoid relegation.
Pietro Pellegri
Deal: Loan termination
Fee: -
Destination: Monaco (loan to Torino)
The striker joined Milan ahead of the season to be the third option for the attack, with an option to buy included in the initial loan deal. The Rossoneri paid €1m for the loan and tried to redeem him already in January, opening talks with Monaco.
However, the two clubs failed to reach an understanding and Pellegri returned to Monaco to be loaned out to Torino instead. Milan also intended to send him to Torino (pending redemption) but felt the asking price was too high based on his performances.
Milos Kerkez
Deal: Permanent transfer
Fee: €2m
Destination: AZ Alkmaar
The left-back signed for Milan one year ago and initially, it seemed like he could become a part of the first team pretty quickly. However, he remained with the Primavera side and this didn't exactly make him happy, having almost been promised first-team action.
Milan thus decided to cash in a nice capital gain and sell him to Alkmaar for around €2m, which is ten times what they paid for him one year ago. There was a lot of hype around Kerkez when he joined but it never really panned out as expected.
Alessandro Plizzari
Deal: Six-month loan
Fee: -
Destination: Lecce
This was indeed a very logical move as the youngster hasn't got any playing time for Milan this season. When Mike Maignan got injured, Ciprian Tatarusanu was ready and Plizzari happened to be injured then.
In that period, the Rossoneri also brought in Antonio Mirante on a free transfer and you can understand why there is no space for Plizzari. Hopefully, he will do well for Lecce in Serie B and come back as a stronger player.
One honourable mentioned is Samu Castillejo, who came close to leaving the Rossoneri during the transfer window as the club reached an agreement with Sampdoria over a loan formula. The winger said no, though, as he only wanted Valencia who, in turn, didn't have an agreement with Milan.
Concrete links
Although Milan only made one signing in January, there were several concrete links on the incoming front. The obvious one to start with is Sven Botman. The Rossoneri are obviously very interested in the Dutch defender and they really tried to bring in him in January. The competition of Newcastle didn’t help, although the player actually rejected a move to the English side.
Milan’s interest has been confirmed by Botman’s agent and several sources suggest that a move is likely to take place in the summer. The operation could cost a total of €33m for the Rossoneri and they have been in talks with Lille over a summer move during January. As for Botman, he has already agreed to sign a four-year contract, as per Calciomercato.com.
Moving on, Botman isn’t the only Lille player Milan are in talks over. In fact, they came close to securing the arrival of Renato Sanches in January but they failed to reach an agreement with the player. He’s considered the ideal replacement for Franck Kessie and reports suggest he has been blocked for the summer, with talks of a €25m fee plus bonuses. These two links are very concrete for Milan and should be monitored with great interest.
Then there is the potential arrival of Andrea Belotti. The striker has been linked with Milan for several years now and since his contract with Torino will expire in the summer, he’s keen to finally materialise the move to his boyhood club. The response from the Rossoneri hasn’t been as eager, wanting to understand the future of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (meeting in March) and a few other things first. There’s no doubt, however, that he would be a good addition on a free transfer and he most likely wouldn’t demand a ridiculous salary either.
Fake news of the month
Finally, let’s take a look at the worst report of the January window, with a clear-cut winner to present. On the penultimate day of the window, Carlo Laudisa stated that Milan were in talks with Tottenham over a last-minute loan signing of Dele Alli. The problem you ask? Well, when the Rossoneri signed Lazetic they also filled their last Non-EU slot in the team, meaning they couldn’t have signed Alli even if they had wanted to.
Laudisa quickly had to backtrack, following the logical reactions of the readers, making that report the clear-cut winner of ‘Fake news of the month’. Maybe Alli is an option for the summer, who knows (most likely not, though), but the journalist got this one really wrong.
A final word
We hope you have enjoyed reading the first edition of our newsletter and we hope to provide similar content on a weekly basis moving forward. From summaries such as this one and in-depth articles, to exclusives and other content about our beloved AC Milan.