Time to look forward [Newsletter]
The last few weeks have been characterised by turmoil, at least among the AC Milan fans, but the situation is now calming down and improving. Since the last newsletter we sent out, in fact, the Rossoneri have completed two signings in Marco Sportiello and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The pre-season, which will start on July 10, is fast approaching and the Rossoneri aim to have a good squad in place already by then. The arrivals of Sportiello and Loftus-Cheek are a good start but a lot more work is needed from Geoffrey Moncada and Giorgio Furlani on the mercato.
In our latest podcast, the famous pundit James Horncastle interestingly pointed out that there hasn’t really been a revolution at Milan, as opposed to the reporting of Italian media. The infrastructure that have made the Rossoneri successful, mainly under Elliott Management, is still in place and Gerry Cardinale has only decided to rely on it more.
Maldini may have been a great ‘closer’ in the negotiations, but he was never the one that identified players at an early stage. That’s all down to the scouting and data analysis methods Milan have in place, which Cardinale now wants to give greater space to after the poor mercato by Maldini and Massara in 2022.
It will be very interesting to see what the Rossoneri can come up with this summer, linked with some very interesting players. That’s another thing that Horncastle pointed out; Milan are the most active Italian side on the mercato. No other Italian team can spend as they do in a sustainable way, and of course the sale of Tonali has only made that gap bigger.
Bottom line, the time has come for both Milan and the fans to look forward and focus on the future. The upcoming season will be very important in that sense as it will be an opportunity for the ‘new management’ to fully win over the fans, who hopefully will see the bigger picture of the project.
In other news, if you haven’t seen it already, we have switched to a paid plan for the bonus content on our Substack. Read more about that here. And if you’re really only interested in the newsletter (which is free), a paid subscription is a great way to show your appreciation, plus you will get access to all of the bonus stuff!
News bulletin
➤ The Athletic published a detailed background on exactly how Newcastle landed Tonali. We picked out the key bits including the two-fronted assault, their 'surprise' at the player's willingness to join and how Milan's transfer budget has now tripled.
➤ There was an important meeting that took place on Monday afternoon at Casa Milan as Stefano Pioli returned from vacation and was updated on where things stand with various targets. La Gazzetta dello Sport have the latest on Reijnders, Pulisic, Chukwueze and Musah.
➤ Milan completed their first signing of the summer a few days ago as they announced that Marco Sportiello has joined on a free transfer. Will he be an upgrade on Ciprian Tatarusanu? We posted an analysis of the ex-Atalanta man.
➤ Nearly everyone was surprised at the rate at which Tonali's move to Newcastle for a club-record fee was completed. Rafael Leao is among them, as he revealed he 'didn't expect' Sandro to leave and saw him as a 'future Gattuso'.
➤ Milan’s interest in Alvaro Morata is concrete. He is the number one target for the striker role and Atletico Madrid have named their price, according to the reliable Matteo Moretto of Relevo.
➤ Milan’s interest in signing Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was reported last week, and it has now been confirmed by a reliable source in Germany - Bild.
In case you missed it
Make sure to check out the latest podcast episode, and our latest bonus podcast in which the lads discuss Loftus-Cheek. You can also read our latest bonus article, which tells the whole story of Geoffrey Moncada.