Milan: The European Disappointment Weighs Heavily; The Free-Agent Market Is Once Again a Real Option
The away game at Bournemouth has left deep scars at Milan. The 3-0 loss—which came in a match played with ten men from midway through the first half due to Mike Maignan’s reckless play—represents not only a setback in terms of the result but also a wake-up call regarding the team’s psychological fragility.
The Milan side seen in England seemed a far cry from the confident, proactive team that coach Ruben Amorim would like to see on the field, and in the league, it’s often individual plays that deliver goals and points in the standings—though they aren’t enough to mask prolonged lapses in concentration, as was already seen in the final half-hour against Atalanta. The team seems to lack confidence in its own abilities, and when things get complicated—as they did at the Vitality Stadium—it struggles to react as a unit.
Compounding the situation is the list of unavailable players, which is growing by the day. Saelemaekers and Gabbia are out practically until spring, Chukwueze is sidelined, and Gonçalo Ramos is hampered by a muscle strain. With the January transfer window still far off, the immediate solution to patch things up is therefore the free-agent market.
For the attack, the most intriguing name is Jadon Sancho, who remains a free agent and is also being pursued by Roma. Options involving Karim Benzema or Mauro Icardi, on the other hand, are seen as outdated and impractical for an immediate integration into a team that will inevitably give them little time to fit into the team’s system.
On defense, among the available players are Rodrigao, formerly of Zenit and Red Star Belgrade, and Rodrigo Schlegel, a product of Racing de Avellaneda’s youth system, who has never played in Europe, however. Francesco Acerbi, who previously played for the Rossoneri during the 2012–2013 season, would also be a free agent, but his long tenure at Inter and some controversies with the Rossoneri camp do not currently make him a credible candidate. Although, as usual, the transfer market is full of possibilities.
