Yahoo Sports Words vs. deeds and worrying developments: Why Milan’s state of flux is breeding impatience
The decisive part of the summer is not close to being upon us, and yet there is a growing apprehension among sections of the AC Milan fanbase regarding the things they read.
As we have written about several times before, there is no underestimating how big a summer this is for Milan. There is a new head coach who must put his stamp on the squad, a centre-forward must arrive among other signings and there are various other issues to be fixed.
While things are naturally slower because of the European Championship that has been underway for a few days and because June in general tends to be a quieter month, it is worth taking stock of what is worrying supporters at the moment.
Ibra’s pledge
Recently Ibrahimovic gave his first press conference since returning to Milan as a Senior Advisor six months ago, and it was packed full of bold declarations, interesting indications and of course a few laughs which we broke down in detail.
One of the things that stood out when answering a couple of questions about the squad building was the certainty with which he said the key names will remain, before turning to the ambitions when it comes to the summer mercato.
“Theo and Maignan will stay, Leao too. They are among the strongest players in their roles and have a contract with us, they are happy. We don’t need to sell. Thanks to RedBird’s work we can bring in strong players to improve the squad,” he said.
“The next step is to strengthen the team, to be more competitive. We want to win trophies, in Italy and in Europe, because we are Milan. The ambition is to fight for trophies every year. Milan don’t just win, Milan make history. Whoever joins Milan must have that same ambition.
“Whoever is already at Milan and doesn’t think like this will not have space. We’re not satisfied with the last season, we agree with the fans. We must not limit ourselves. I’m optimistic, I’m positive. We have a group of directors who are hungry. We have a plan that we are following, we’re confident in what we do. We have a strategy.
“The club brought in 12 players last year I think it was, we laid the foundation and now the details count to improve the team. We are looking for a striker, then the market is every day. We have a scouting system around the clock.”
There was no cryptic messaging from the Swede: the plan is to make the squad even stronger so it can win on multiple fronts, and the way to do that is to keep the best players while making targeted additions in areas that need addressing. Sounds promising so far.
On hold
According to multiple sources and our own information, negotiations between Milan and Joshua Zirkzee’s agents have entered a stalemate phase because Giorgio Furlani and Kia Joorabchian remain fixed in their positions.
The agent says that €15m in commissions are needed to close the deal in addition to the €40m release clause but Milan will not pay that amount either now or in the future because they have set out a more principled stance.
A couple of threats have emerged too. Firstly there is the fact that Zirkzee will now be involved in the European Championship with Netherlands after becoming an emergency call-up, something that could attract new suitors and hold things up.
Secondly it is being widely reported that Manchester United contacted the Dutchman’s entourage in recent days to obtain information, and they of course have a lot of purchasing power as the signing of Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for €70m last year showed.
Milan are in some ways caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand they are one step away from signing a highly sought after player who fills a need, but if they pay the commissions they risk upsetting that previously established principle. Then, if they choose to walk away the risk of backlash is high, while they must of course restart that striker search.
While ever there is no news, supporters and the media will naturally presume that means bad news such is the discourse when it comes to Milan, so this state of flux is one that is proving to be difficult to digest.
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What about the others?
Another thing that adds to the strangeness of the current moment is the dilemma that the management may feel when it comes to getting the jig saw pieces in place.
Even if the window has not officially opened, there have been several reports claiming that Geoffrey Moncada and co. must first resolve the centre-forward issue before turning to other areas and this means they may miss out on some targets in the meantime.
The 49 goals conceded in 38 Serie A games last season shows a need to fix the defensive department with a centre-back signing, and two names faded away within the space of a few hours.
Over the past few days the Rossoneri have been linked with a move for Rafa Marin who spent last season on loan at Deportivo Alaves from Real Madrid, while Lilian Brassier of Brest is a player that has been mentioned as an option for months now.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Napoli and Real Madrid are ‘almost there’ in talks over a deal that will seen Marin join the former permanently. The 22-year-old has already agreed on terms, while Los Blancos will have a buy back clause with details being clarified.
In another tweet, Romano adds that Olympique Marseille are on the verge of signing Brassier. Talks are underway with Brest while personal terms have been agreed over a five-year deal. The player ‘rejected three other proposals’ – also from Champions League clubs – to join OM.
Of course there will be other names on the list that are being evaluated, and there is also a more than slim possibility that the duo above were never concrete options, but the point stands that focusing too much on getting one piece in place can see others fall off the table entirely.
Renewal doubts
Even though both Theo and Maignan are at the European Championship with France, their futures continue to be speculated about and there is very little to suggest that either of them are close to penning long-term deals.
One of the main things Zlatan said – as stated above – is that the French duo plus Rafael Leao are ‘happy’ and will definitely stay because the club does not need to sell them.
However, on Saturday, the left-back effectively nullified the comments, stating: “Whether I’ll stay at AC Milan or not, we’ll see later.” That whipped fans into a frenzy, with many jumping to the conclusion that he is thinking of a future away from the Rossoneri.
Gianluca Di Marzio spoke live on Sky last night about the situation related to the two Frenchmen, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“There are still no developments regarding the renewal of Maignan and Theo at Milan, there are no negotiations yet, also because they are busy at the European Championship,” he said.
“If the requests of the two Frenchmen – it will depend a lot on this – will be higher than the salary ceilings dictated by Milan, it could be complicated to reach an agreement with Maignan.
“The certain thing is that Milan see the French goalkeeper as a leader, both on and off the pitch so the Rossoneri will do everything to please him and make him stay at Milan for a long time.”
Thus, a media narrative has developed whereby Milan are not sure to keep their best players despite a trusted figure saying they will, cannot get a deal over the line for their No.1 target and names that have been linked are going elsewhere.
A dose of realism
A few considerations are needed to round things off in the right way. Firstly, it must be stressed that the summer is in its infancy, and while it is always good to get business done early where possible it is more important to make the right signings rather than rushed ones.
Secondly, it does seem as though the major sources are no longer as bulletproof as they once were when it came to information. In fact, a lot of the operations that Milan have done in recent windows has gone under the radar, suggesting the papers and certain journalists could be off the mark.
Thirdly, the certainties and the platforms to build upon remain, such as the fact that the club are on a very healthy footing financial and have some obvious holes in the squad to plug without a full overhaul needed. That means they can pick and choose the right deals.
Finally, a look around the league shows that very few rivals are doing much at this stage either and most of them have a longer to-do list than Milan. Patience will be needed, just as it will be tested.
