AC Milan remain in the race for the Scudetto. Even though they’ve experienced a poor run of form lately, they sit third in the Serie A table. Inter Milan and Napoli are ahead of them, however, and these are two very talented squads. Creeping up behind Milan are Atalanta, Roma, and even Juventus. Atalanta are always a tricky squad, whereas Roma have Jose Mourinho and Juventus still have plenty of talent.
There have been two evident holes in Milan in the latest poor run of form, and they must be addressed immediately come January.
AC Milan: January Transfer Wishlist
Centre-Back
Coming into the season, centre-back was a major position of strength for Milan. Simon Kjaer was coming off a spectacular league season with heroic efforts during the summer’s Euro 2020 tournament. Fikayo Tomori broke out for the Rossoneri, and earned a permanent transfer. Coming off the bench was Alessio Romagnoli, who had long been a Milan starter previously.
The issue, of course, came when Kjaer went down with a season-ending injury earlier this month. He was the veteran presence at the back, and could hold his own versus any forward in football.
Tomori continues to put in fantastic performances. He’s not an issue at all.
Unfortunately for Milan, captain Romagnoli has seen a major downgrade in form over the last couple of seasons. Injuries can attribute to this, but the truth is the Italian is not the defender he was just two seasons ago. He doesn’t turn 27 until next month, so his form shouldn’t be down, but it is. He’s no longer an assured starter.
The other centre-back in the squad is Matteo Gabbia. He’s far too inexperienced to play a major role in the Scudetto race.
Milan can either go for a stopgap veteran option or the future partner to Tomori. The choice is theirs, but it’s clear this team needs help at the back.
Attacking Midfield/Wing
Like the centre-back position, injuries and poor form has affected this position group. It’s also a very important group as manager Stefano Pioli uses a 4-2-3-1 formation. This calls for two wingers and one attacking midfielder. The main options now include Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao, Ante Rebic, Alexis Saelemakers, and Junior Messias.
Diaz started the season on fire, often looking like Milan’s best player on the pitch. Since a run in with COVID-19 a couple of months ago, however, Diaz’s form has been off.
Leao and Rebic have been amazing nearly every time they’ve been on the pitch. The problem is that’s been hard to come by. Both players are crucial to Milan, but have struggled with injury. Rebic can also play the striker position, making him even more vital considering Milan’s two strikers in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud are older.
Saelemaekers and Messias are what they are. Solid players overall, but not necessarily game-changers. They’ve had their moments, but can’t always be relied upon.
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