AC Milan are planning a major overhaul this summer. The Rossoneri will reportedly sacrifice six players to raise funds.
Unlike last year when sporting director Leonardo and new owners Elliot Management had only 20 days to move in the summer transfer window, this time is going to be different. Despite the Champions League qualification still being unclear, the AC Milan management is already planning the new team for next season.
There are only four players that AC Milan consider unsellable. No matter the hefty offers that many arrive the Rossoneri don’t intend to deprive themselves from their biggest stars. Gigio Donnarumma, captain Alessio Romagnoli, Lucas Paqueta and Krzysztof Piatek will be the backbone of the new Milan.
Still, even in case of Champions League qualification, the Rossoneri must sell a couple of players. According to Calciomercato, AC Milan have already put six players on the market.
Although their sale could help Milan raise funds to invest in new signings the main reason of their departure is their underwhelming form throughout the season. The clubs expected much more from these six players.
DIEGO LAXALT & IVAN STRINIC
Let’s start from the defence. The back-line, usually composed by Romagnoli, Musacchio, Calabria and Ricardo Rodriguez has performed well this season. But the same can not be said for their replacements, especially from Diego Laxalt.
After investing €14 million to acquire his services from Genoa, the Uruguayan has failed to contribute at San Siro. Coach Gennaro Gattuso has used Laxalt in a variety of positions but he hasn’t performed well either as left back, midfielder or winger.
The only good news is that a couple of Serie A teams are interested in Laxalt. His former coach Gasperini would like to have him back and AC Milan are already in negotiations with Atalanta regarding a player swap.
Another defender whose departure is guaranteed is Ivan Strinic. The 31 year old left back has yet to feature for Milan this season.
The Croatian defender enjoyed a stellar campaign with his national team in the World Cup but heart problems have prevented him to contribute for Milan. He will likely leave on a free transfer without ever making an official appearances with the Rossoneri but Milan will save 2 million per season from his departure.
HAKAN CALHANOGLU
The Turkish left winger is without a doubt AC Milan’s worst performer this year. Personal problems have influenced his displays on the pitch but it’s hard to justify his disastrous statistic of just two goals in 34 Serie A appearances.
Calhanoglu was perhaps AC Milan’s best player in the second half of last season, however, when everybody was expecting his confirmation, Hakan demonstrated he is an unreliable and inconsistent player.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso has always supported him but that hasn’t been enough. Lately, Rino is using Calhanoglu as central midfielder but even this experiment has failed most of the times.
In 2017 AC Milan paid around 24 million to buy Calhanoglu from Bayer Leverkusen. In January, RB Leipzig well willing bring Calhanoglu back to Bundesliga for a similar fee but coach Gattuso blocked everything. It could be hard for Milan to recoup the same figure in the summer.
FABIO BORINI
Coach Gennaro Gattuso has used the 28-year-old winger in practically every position on the pitch. In his two years in Italy Borini has proven to be a reliable and committed player.
The former Liverpool is an important figure in the locker room but the club reportedly doesn’t want to pay 2,5 million per year for a player who is almost never a regular starter.
Furthermore, Milan could get a nice profit from Borini who is followed by many Chinese clubs.
When the January transfer window closed in Italy, but was still open in China, Milan received 10 million euros from a Chinese club that was willing to offer Borini a very rich contract of 5 million per year. The timing was not right and negotiation failed but they are expected to resume in a few weeks.
SUSO
The Spanish right winger was a formidable force in the first half of the season. He was Serie A’s top assist provider and author of some spectacular goals.
However, things have dramatically changed this year. Suso is no longer able to help his team with goals and assists and his dip in form has been costly for the team risking Champions League participation.
Several Spanish and English are interested in Suso. Unfortunately for Milan, any foreign club could sign the 24-year-old simply by paying his release clause of 38 million euros.
Since the beginning of the season AC Milan have been in negotiations with his agent to sign a new contract and eliminate the release clause but no progress has been made. Another factor that may push Suso towards the exit.
SAMU CASTILLEJO
AC Milan plan to sign at least two new wingers this summer. The Rossoneri have practically closed everything with Everton Soares and are continuing to monitor several other transfer targets.
That translates to reduced opportunities for Samu Castillejo. AC Milan purchased the Spanish winger for 18 million euros plus Bacca but it seems like recouping this amount it’s not going to be problem.
Sevilla are ready to offer more than 20 million to bring Castillejo back to Spain. The Rossoneri will evaluate every bid that exceeds the 20 million figure.
Castillejo is in his first year at Milan and has performed better than Calhanoglu, however, he hasn’t managed to fully convince coach Gattuso who continues to prefer Hakan.
