Despite enjoying a great start of the season and riding high on top of the Serie A table, Milan’s squad is far from complete, as several weak points threaten to tear apart their current golden run. Thus, technical director Paolo Maldini is currently working on filling the holes in the upcoming winter transfer market, and a new defender is going to be high on the Milan wishlist.
Although club captain Alessio Romagnoli has been a capable leader at the heart of the Milan defense, his main partner Simon Kjær has been mostly solid, but some are still unconvinced by Dane’s ability to be a starter for a Scudetto challenging squad.
And things get even worse in the absence of the former Palermo man, with the likes of Mateo Musacchio and Léo Duarte being injured more often than not, while the young and impressive Matteo Gabbia is still too inexperienced to be trusted with a starting berth during the current vital campaign.
A report from tuttosport suggests that Milan have set their sights on three potential recruitments. The main option remains Ozan Kabak who was already a Rossoneri target during the last summer Calciomercato. The 20-year-old Turkish defender is reportedly desperate to leave Schalke 04 who are currently at the very bottom of the Bundesliga table.
The two alternatives for Kabak are Strasbourg’s Mohamed Simakan and Hellas Verona’s Matteo Lovato who are at the same age with the young Turk.
Our View
Although Maldini and fellow Milan director Ricky Massara should be lauded for their continuous pursuit of young talents, it feels that a more established defender could be of better use for Stefano Pioli’s project.
But between the three young options mentioned above, Kabak has already 46 Bundesliga appearances under his belt, and at a cut price of 15 million Euros, he could become Milan’s own version of his compatriot Merih Demiral, but they would have to ward off the competition, as Liverpool are also reportedly interested in his signature.
Ozan Kabak in the Bundesliga:
✅27 games
⚽️6 goals
?️1 assistThese stats show you how extremely dangerous he is during set-pieces. Aerial monster.
— Football Talent Scout – Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) December 23, 2019