The importance of early signings: True or false? [Bonus Article]

The Raduno, i.e. the first day of pre-season, is fast approaching and aside from Alex Jimenez, AC Milan are yet to make a signing. Granted that the Euros are taking up a lot of focus, while the transfer window only just opened, the fans are right to ask questions. Because as we all know, getting to know the team during the pre-season is essential.

With several stars currently at the Euros and set to get some vacation afterwards, the pre-season was always going to be a bit strange this summer. At least at the start, with the first team expected to train with Milan Futuro until the squad is back at full capacity. Having said that, the management knows that getting the signings done early could make a significant difference.

That is the consensus, anyway, especially this summer with Paulo Fonseca taking over the reins from Stefano Pioli. The more time he gets with his players, the better, and the current feeling is that he could be waiting for a while on big reinforcements such as a No.9. After all, Luka Jovic is now on vacation and whether he will be back for the Raduno is unclear, leaving Francesco Camarda as the only out-and-out striker.

Assuming that the key signings will take some time, above all due to tough negotiations, how much will it affect Milan? To determine the impact, we decided to take a look at the past three transfer windows to find some precedents. Does it really matter if you arrive early in the summer or the final days of the mercato?And if the latter, is that something that can be remedied quickly? Let’s take a look.