Milan went into the international break in 1st-place of the Serie A table. It’s been a fine start to the season from Stefano Pioli and his side, but he’ll no doubt be looking towards the January transfer market session, as he bids for Milan’s first Scudetto since 2011.
Pioli has a fairly big squad size at his disposal and one or two, maybe three names could depart in the New Year, and make way for some fresh ones to help Milan on their way to a 19th Serie A title.
Here we take a look at three players Pioli should consider selling in January:
Hakan Calhanoglu
Milan and Calhanoglu are in a tricky situation: The Turk is wanted by Manchester United and they are supposedly ready to offer him a pre-contract deal in the coming weeks, with his current Milan deal set to expire next summer.
It could see Milan lose one of their best attacking players for nothing, and so Pioli has no other option than to try and renegotiate an extended deal or sell the 26-year-old in January.
Whether or not Milan will receive anything for Calhanoglu largely depends on Manchester United and their movements, but Pioli could yet see Calhanoglu’s inevitable departure bring a bit of revenue into the club.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s agent, Gordon Stipic, is frustrated by the slow negotiations over a new deal at Milan and so has offered the player to both United and Inter Milan. [tuttosport] #mufc #RS pic.twitter.com/btd00ZOyok
— Red Devil Updates (@reddupdates) November 13, 2020
Andrea Conti
Pioli has a large defensive unit at his disposal and many of them young, and hungry to break into his first-team plans.
One of those who’s remained on the periphery is Conti – the 26-year-old is yet to feature in Serie A this season having been injured for the most part, and left on the bench in six of Milan’s last seven outings.
A useful player no doubt, but Milan could do well to cash in on Conti this January whilst his stock is relatively high, and make space for the up and coming defenders at the club – versatile Diogo Dalot or even youngster Pierre Kalulu come to mind, whilst Davide Calabria looks as though he could become a huge player for his club and country.
Samu Castillejo
Perhaps a controversial choice, but given that the Spaniard is now in his third season at the club after his 2018 move from Villareal – has he really fulfilled his potential?
A loan move could well be on the cards. Castillejo is only 25-years-old and having been limited to just four Serie A appearances this term, Pioli may feel fit to lend him to another European club for the second-half of the campaign.
Prone to injury, and having scored just 6 goals in his 58 Serie A appearances for the club, Castillejo’s contribution looks increasingly small. Another one whose stock will be relatively high in this market, and Pioli might do well to get 20M euros or higher for the player this January.
