In the world of football, there’s very little space for breathing rooms. Following the conclusion of a campaign, clubs must immediately begin their preparations for the next one. So after lifting their first Scudetto trophy in eleven years, Milan are expected to build on their great achievement by pulling off a solid transfer market.
Yet the Rossoneri have thus far been the slowest to react among the elite Italian clubs. While Juventus already have Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria in the bank, and Inter have welcomed back Romelu Lukaku alongside other newcomers, the reigning champions’ summer campaign is yet to take off.
The hierarchy wasted precious time before inking new deals with club directors Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara, which obviously hindered their work. The Diavolo have announced the capture of Liverpool benchwarmer Divock Origi, while Alessandro Florenzi and Junior Messias have earned permanent contracts.
However, these signings pale in comparison with the ones who landed at Juventus and Inter thus far this summer.
Now surely we still have a long way to go before the end of the transfer market on September 1, but Milan could end up paying dearly for their slow start, and here are some of reasons why.
Losing Primary Targets
Even though the reigning champions will end up signing players at some point, we just don’t know if they’ll be able to attract the required profiles once they decide to lunge into the market.
Similarly to last summer when Gianluigi Donnarumma and Hakan Calhanoglu left as free agents, the Rossoneri have lost the services of Franck Kessié and club captain Alessio Romagnoli, meaning that Maldini and company will have some extra work to do to make up for the losses before they begin to enhance the squad.
However, the club has been repeatedly missing out on some of its primary targets, the likes of Sven Botman, Renato Sanches and Gianluca Scamacca.
Perhaps the Italian giants aren’t able to compete against the riches of the Premier League and some of the other top European sides. but Milan has to put up a fight on the transfer market in order to restore some of the club’s old prestige on the continental scene.
Wasting Pre-Season
Even if the management succeeds in landing decent players late in the market, these newcomers will need some time to integrate within the club while Stefano Pioli would miss out on the opportunity to test them in pre-season and make up some assessment before the start of the season.
It’s also worth mentioning that the upcoming campaign will begin earlier than usual (August 13), and the defending champions would want to avoid a scrappy start caused by a chaotic end of the transfer session (just ask Juventus who endured a horrific start last season at the back of a late August scramble).
Losing Grip
Last season, Milan won the Scudetto and deservedly so, but their triumph came at the back of a thrilling battle with their crosstown rivals until the final day of the campaign. Moreover, a section of observers still believes that Inter and Juventus possessed more equipped squads at their disposals despite falling short in the race.
Therefore, the reigning champions aren’t yet in a position that allows them to rest on their laurels and watch things unfold on the market. Instead, the Rossoneri must grit their teeth and start the bolstering process, otherwise, they risk losing their grip on their title defense before it even begins.