AC Milan are looking for a new ‘engine’ in their midfield, and they will not stop after the arrivals of Luka Modric and Samuele Ricci.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes that Modric should combine quality with work rate, but he amassed 2923 minutes in the last season and it’s not over yet, given he is busy at the Club World Cup with Real Madrid.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic began his second Rossoneri story as a player at the same age and he also came from the United States. Modric is playing for yet another trophy in an incredible career, Zlatan had been in Los Angeles and in the MLS for months.
It is a competition that certainly required a different mental and physical effort compared to Modric’s efforts between La Liga, Champions League and now Club World Cup. Once all his commitments are over, Modric will undergo medical tests and will arrive in Milan after a few days of rest.
Ricci joins Modric
Luka will be one of the references of the new Rossoneri midfield. With Reijnders gone, the club have changed strategy. No more raiders who, upon receiving the ball, rush towards the opponent’s area.
Instead, the target will be players who know how to manage possession, increase the quality of dribbling, midfielders who are functional to controlling the game. The same reason that inspired the negotiation for Ricci of Torinonow close to Milan for €23m plus €2m in bonuses.
He is another possible beacon of the midfield, sixteen years younger than the Croatian: an Italian, speaking of nationality, in a team that Milan would like to be more Azzurro. He came through at Empoli, with whom Ricci made his senior debut (90 appearances and three goals).
Then Ricci moved to Torino, amassing another 113 appearances with four goals. He can be used as a regista or even as a mezzala, because the Rossoneri’s desire is to strengthen the entire line.
Jashari Next?
The club have no issue investing in young players: the idea of a talent that can thrive under Allegri also fuels discussions with Club Brugge for Ardon Jashari, a 22-year-old Swiss, one of Max’s favourites. He was the Belgian league MVP at the first attempt, having arrived last summer from FC Luzern.
Eleven of his 52 seasonal appearances marked his debut season in the Champions League. A curiosity: four of his 11 total were against Italian teams and Jashari emerged victorious in the double playoff clash against Atalanta.
He made a good impression against Juventus and left San Siro defeated 3-1 in Milan-Brugge, but victorious on a personal level after a performance of quality and substance. Milan would now like to bring him into their midfield, offering Bruges a total of €30m. Take it or leave it, there will be no raise.
The inclusion of Borussia Dortmund is not scary at the moment. Also because Ardon wants Milan and has a sustainable salary: Milan are confident that his will could make the difference, bringing diplomacy between the clubs and weaken the Belgian resistance.
Other targets and exits
Jashari has characteristics that Allegri recognises as unique and useful for the new course: much more than Xhaka, who has the nature of a regista, a section that the club has already filled with the purchase of Modric and the negotiations for Ricci.
Max also considers Jashari more talented than Javi Guerra, the Spanish U21 international for Valencia. However, before inserting a young player on the launching pad, who needs to have his own room to grow, Milan will have to clear space.
Reijnders leaves a big void, but there is still traffic. In the lane reserved for exits remains Yunus Musah: he could have gone to Napoli before the negotiations were stopped. Now he could choose an English destination: Wolves and Nottingham Forest are interested and can offer €25m.
Allegri might be interested in working on Warren Bondo, helping him to enhance his potential. Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains, considered strategic in the new scheme. Max, like Tare, confirmed his appreciation for the former Chelsea player.
The limit is in the physique: his muscles have often proven too fragile in the face of the intensity of commitments last season, 28 games without a goal along months conditioned by injuries. The calendar of the next season, without Europe, will be less full.
The belief is that RLC can be revitalised. The example of the first Rossoneri season is enough: 40 appearances and 10 goals in 2023-24. Loftus-Cheek could also be considered a new purchase: for an almost completely renewed midfield.
