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Do AC Milan Need A Serious Rebuild Over The Summer?
Blogs

Do AC Milan Need A Serious Rebuild Over The Summer?

15/04/25 18:48

With six games left in the Serie A season, AC Milan are seriously behind the expectations placed upon them before the start of the campaign. Outside the European places, just inside the top 10 and already going through one manager, it hasn’t been a good season for AC Milan. Things need to change immediately and a complete rebuild would help with that. Question is, how much to they actually need to change to get better?

The Story So Far

AC Milan, on paper, had a good summer transfer window. Bringing in Álvaro Morata, Strahinja Pavlović, Youssouf Fofana, Álex Jiménez, Emerson Royal and Tammy Abraham (on loan), they looked like those acquisitions would help them try to deliver that 20th Scudetto.

Bringing in talent wasn’t the only deals that were happening in Milan as they saw a mass exodus of players leave the club, a total of 19 players not coming back through the doors. Young talent Charles De Ketelaere the highest sale they got, the Belgian leaving for €26 million following a year previous on loan with Atalanta.

In the previous season, Lille manager at the time Paulo Fonseca, had lead the French club into the UEFA Champions League with their fourth placed finish and that was enough to pique AC Milan’s interest, signing Fonseca on to become the new man in charge at Milan.

Despite doing well in France, the same could not be said in Italy with AC Milan averaging just 1.75 points in the 24 matches Fonseca was in the dugout. Those 24 matches were enough for I Rossoneri to bite the bullet and get him out with them languishing in eighth place in the Serie A table. Fonseca might have been able to deliver wins over fierce rivals Inter Milan and a huge win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League but publicly criticising the squad, especially stars Theo Hernández and Rafael Leão, on top of the poor performances lead to Paulo getting the axe in late December 2024.

Now needing a new manager fast, AC Milan already had replacement lined up and ready. Sérgio Conceição joined the club with immediate effect, replacing FC Porto for the red side of Milan. In just two games, Conceição had already managed to deliver the club a trophy. Beating Juventus 1-2 in the Semi Final and then rivals Inter Milan 2-3 in the Final, AC Milan were crowned Supercoppa Italia champions for the eighth time in their history.

Domestically and the aim for Conceição was to claw back the deficit they faced and get AC Milan back into the European places, determined not to be the one for Milan to not make it into Europe due to league position for the first time in 10 years. However, Conceição efforts have not gone to plan. The 50-year old has been in charge of AC Milan for 23 games now and has recorded an average points per game of 1.65, a tally lower than the previous efforts of Paulo Fonseca. Because of this, the higher ups at AC Milan are looking for replacements for him, a termination of Conceição’s contract in the summer likely.

AC Milan sit no better off from when they got rid of Fonseca. After 31 games in the Serie A, they still find themselves in ninth places. Picking up 14 wins, nine losses and nine draws, those results have left them with 51 points. The closest place for European football for next season is sixth place, earning them a qualification spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League. AC Milan trail the current holders, Lazio, by five points. European football is still on the cards for them but with the limited number of games left in the season, it will be a big ask for them to claw back enough points to get into the UEFA Champions League, something that is eight points away from them.

Reckless January Purchases?

Just as Conceição was appointed as AC Milan manger, the January transfer window had just rolled round the corner. He was given chance to bring in players that he wanted from the beginning of his managerial stint. During that window, Milan sent away those that Conceição had either fallen out with or no longer fit the plans that he wanted to execute, most notably club captain Davide Calabria found himself headed to Bologna indefinitely.

With one of those players making a switch that January being summer arrival Álvaro Morata, strikers were a key focus in AC Milan’s transfer business. The club went big, signing Santigo Gimenez from Feyenoord for €32 million and agreed a loan move for João Félix until the remainder of the season.

Getting off to great starts, the pair of them have since seen their goal involvements drastically drop. João Félix was hoping to sign with AC Milan on a permanent deal this summer but his performances haven’t shown much promise and he is now set to be shipped back to Chelsea once his loan spell is complete.

The Untouchables

AC Milan have been able to rely on three players in particular for the majority of their goals. Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leão and Tijani Reijnders have been superb for AC Milan this season. The trio have reached double-digits for goal contributions in the Serie A this season and have been their go to players when they need a goal the most.

Pulisic has been able to continue the strong output that he showed when he first arrived in Italy last year, his nine goals and 10 assists from 28 games showing that he could be on track to beat his 12 goals and nine assists from his first season. Despite a period of time when Fonseca had Leão stuck on the bench, the Portuguese winger has still managed to find the back of the net seven times whilst also providing nine assists. The pair of them are ranked 1st and 2nd in the Serie A for the most big chances created this season, 60 and 56 respectively. AC Milan would find themselves in an even worse situation without the wingers on either side of the pitch. ‘Captain America’ has been rewarded with his great campaign with a contract extension, locking him down to AC Milan for another four years.

The real shock though is Tijani Reijnders who has improved tenfold from when he joined AC Milan last season. The 26-year-old has registered four assists to go alongside his 10 goals, making him the top scorer at the club this season, even from midfield. He left no doubt for AC Milan not to renew his contract last month but he will still be on the target list of a lot of big clubs in the summer.

On the other end of the pitch and Theo Hernández is someone that AC Milan can’t afford to lose without the perfect replacement in line. The French international enters the summer transfer window with just one year left on his deal and the club should be desperate to get him to extend that contract. It does seem like that his exit might be set in stone but if AC Milan are able to get a few more years out of Hernández, selling him will not be an option.

In between the sticks and AC Milan are fortunate to have one of the best goalkeepers in the world at their disposal. Over the course of 90 minutes, Maignan has a save percentage of 70.6%, averaged 2.7 saves and conceded an average of 1.1 goal per match, on top of keeping 10 clean sheets. Like Hernández, the 29-year-old’s contract expires in June 2026 so he will be the attention of a lot of clubs in the summer, in particular Manchester United who will be in the market for a goalkeeper. There is hope though seeing as AC Milan have offered Maignan with a new deal that would keep him at the club until the 2028/29 season and receive a hefty salary increase.

Aside from the permanent transfers that AC Milan have made recently, like Santiago Gimenez and Youssouf Fofana for example, anyone outside those five aforementioned players have their future with AC Milan uncertain. Even then, with Milan looking into replacing Conceição, the new manager could just decide that one of those players in not needed and they could see an exit sooner than they might have thought.

Targets To Look Into

It remains to be seen where AC Milan will actually end up finishing but the lack of European football could seriously affect who the Italian outfit can convince to join the club. Bringing in one of the worst right backs in the Premier League in Emerson Royal at the start of the season and then Manchester City’s Kyle Walker on loan in January, it is clear that AC Milan are in need of a right back.

With Calabria having left the club to join Bologna after a fall out with Conceição, AC Milan need a top quality right back to fill in his shoes. Walker is getting on in his years and no longer delivering the performances he used to, so signing him permanently would be a waste of funds. However, it seems like AC Milan will look to bring the Englishman in on a permanent deal, the price tag to be around €5 million.

A full back should be the priority for AC Milan to bring in this summer. With Hernández believed to leave the club, he will be sorely missed if the club can’t get the right man in to replace him. Premier League stars in Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell and Wolves’ Rayan Aït-Nouri are the two main targets as of now. Out of the two of them, Aït-Nouri would be the best one to go for. Statistically, he measures up the most to Hernández with his versatility in going forward and defensive qualities. The current Wolves man is expected to have numerous clubs interested in his signature though, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are linked to a move for the Algerian so AC Milan will have to snap him up quick.

Rafael Leão has been an integral part of the AC Milan squad for while now but despite having a contract keeping him at the club until at least 2028, he could be on the move this summer. The club have stated that they will not stand in the way if the 25-year-old wants a way out.

If that is the case then a winger will be a must for AC Milan. Having already identified targets in case Leão leaving is an eventuality, the three options that the club have chosen look to be, Jack Grealish, Dango Ouattara and Dejan Kulusevski. Whilst Milan would be willing to pay the £40 million fee for Manchester City’s Grealish, a loan move would be the preferred option.

New Season Ambitions

Everything isn’t going to come together all at once. It will take time for AC Milan to get back the great height in Italian football that they used to reach consistently. Nevertheless, if they can bring in some good talent whilst retaining their stars on their books and make a decision on who they trust to be their manager. Once AC Milan sort that out, they should be able to return to their past glory quicker than anticipated. Those two major changes could be the key difference that they need because as of right now, AC Milan are a shadow of their former selves.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Luca Testa

Lead Writer

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