Why Milan didn’t buy a winger in January?
For a long time AC Milan tried to sign a new winger with many players being considered by the management but in the end the Rossoneri opted against it.
The search for a top level winger that could play both on the right and on the left was Leonardo’s priority after the club completed the 35 million euros purchase of Krzysztof Piatek. There were many interesting players around Europe being linked to Milan but in the end nobody arrived at Milanello.
After 70 million euros spent for Lucas Paqueta and Piatek the signing of a new winger would have been the icing on the cake of the Rossoneri’s winter campaign but things turned out differently. In today’s press conference, on the even of Roma-Milan, coach Gennaro Gattuso touched on the subject and explained why Milan decided against buying a player in this transfer window.
“We thought about a new winger, we needed someone to make a jump in quality. There was no one on the market, reachable and that fitted this profile so we preferred to stay with the current group of players. We should not sign someone just because we needed a new player. You don’t do things that way. However Milan is now stronger. Soon Biglia, Caldara and Zapata will return. They are like new purchases. Our team has strengthened“, concluded Gattuso.
This Milan needs footballers that could immediately play in the starting eleven and no one available on the market could convince Leo and Maldini. In order to reach Champions League qualification Gattuso needs signings like Paqueta and Piatek who have integrated perfectly with the team.
The only transfer target on which Milan would have bet in January was Allan Saint Maximin. The 21 year old star winger is exactly the type of player Milan want and need. Maldini even phoned his agent and Milan reportedly made an offer of around 30 million euros but unfortunately Nice refused after coach Vieira threatened to resign if a transfer was approved.