As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) notes this morning, Milan finished Stefano Pioli’s first full season in 2020–21 in second place, behind Inter, with a strong sense of being a developing, entertaining, and most importantly, soulful team. Milan ran the possibility of finishing in the same spot three years later, but with a bigger margin and a different vibe.
The 2023–24 season will be determined by the Europa League, which represents the final opportunity to salvage a season that saw eliminations from both the Coppa Italia against Atalanta at San Siro and the Champions League, despite playing in a very difficult group.
Milan supporters agreed with Gerry Cardinale when he stated, “This is not enough,” and “more will be needed for the next season,” repeatedly. This implies that until the owner makes some significant decisions, not much will change.
The coach
After more than four years in command, Pioli may have reached the end of his career at Milan, thus the first choice will naturally need to be made about him.
Although the management clearly values Julen Lopetegui as a coach, advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have a major influence over what occurs on the bench.
The choice about Pioli and his potential replacement will be heavily influenced by the Swede. Naturally, major decisions about the composition of the squad must be made before selecting the manager.
The striker
However, financial commitments will determine how big the team gets. Regardless of what happens with Olivier Giroud, whose contract is about to expire, Milan is searching for a new No. 9 because they want to give a young forward the opportunity to lead the attack.
Joshua Zirkzee and Benjamin Sesko are the two outstanding contenders. Sesko is a 2003 native, a player for RB Leipzig, physically strong, technically adept, and goal-oriented. Zirkzee was born in 2001, and in Bologna, he showed that he is more of a striker with playmaking ability—the media referred to him as a “9.5.”
There would be some maths to do, though. Bayern Munich has a buy-back clause that allows them to acquire Zirkzee for the starting price of €40 million. Anyone who does not want the Dutchman will have to pay at least €60 million.
The pricing is marginally less for Sesko. This is also the reason it makes sense to give some other prospects some thought, such Jonathan David, whose contract with Lille expires in a little over a year. Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting CP) and Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord) are still in effect.
The other positions
The rest of the summer mercato is in the background, but Milan should sign a central defender to replace Simon Kjaer if the Dane’s contract is not renewed.
Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham), Maxence Lacroix (Wolfsburg) and Lilian Brassier (Brest) are on the wish list, and have been mentioned in various reports for months now.
Above all, the squad will be strengthened with a full-back and a more defensive midfielder than the five options currently in the squad, especially given the ‘Krunic experiment’ – which was supposed to stop the opponents’ waves in front of the defence – ultimately failed.
The dilemma
However, all of the above (barring maybe Pioli’s future) will depend on the answer to one question: will Milan accept the offers for Theo Hernandez, Mike Maignan and Rafael Leao?
Obviously all three will not be sold but offers will arrive and one from Bayern Munich for Theo is definitely expected.
Milan will only sell their stars if offers come in that are simply too good to turn down and which would change the entire market, as the Sandro Tonali case showed.
Here is the dilemma: with at least €80m more in funds, Milan could bet heavily on a striker and afford another big signing, but they would have one less champion.
