Football Season Guide

Milan

In


Riccardo Saponara (mid)(Empoli); Jherson Vergara (def)(Universitario Popayan); Andrea Poli (mid)(Sampdoria); Matias Silvestre (def)(Inter)

Out


Mario Yepes (def)(released); Massimo Ambrosini (mid)(Fiorentina); Bartosz Salamon (def)(Sampdoria); Didac Vilà (def)(Real Betis); Rodney Strasser (mid)(Genoa); Bojan Krkic (att)(Roma, end of loan)

After being eliminated from the fight for the Scudetto quite early in the past season, over the summer Milan would have been expected to spend big wads of money in order to strengthen what was a rather limited squad. Against any logic, it did not happen. The management of the Devils acted in a more cautious way. First of all, they let go some of the older players, such as Ambrosini, hero of many a winning battle, and Yepes, and some players like Strasser, Bojan and Carmona, who had failed to impress during their permanence with the club. Then, they opted for the signing of some youths both promising, such as Vergara and Saponara, or experienced, such as Poli. Apart from Poli, who could gain himself a place in the midfield together with untouchable Montolivo and Muntari or De Jong, who will be back after a season-ending injury, none of the new signings should be expected to make the starting eleven. Not even the experienced Silvestre, who arrived from Inter. In fact, in defence, Abate and De Sciglio should still be the full-backs with Mexes and Zapata as the centre-backs. The attack had already been strengthened at the beginning of the 2013 by the arrival of Balotelli and so should basically be left unaltered. The feeling is that Milan need some further signings in order to become seriously competitors for Juventus and the other candidate to the Scudetto. Honda is expected to arrive from Russia later in the season, will he be enough for a quantum leap?

Target


Milan are compelled to fight for the Scudetto but, at the moment, they still lack the depth and the quality needed to do so. Allegri does not seem likely to make any miracles with the players he can currently count on.