If the market of the Milan – incoming – is apparently at a standstill, the same cannot be said for the outgoing one, in which, after the sale of De Ketelaere to Atalanta, with around 24 million collected by the Rossoneri club, he is receiving multiple interests for his players.
In the last few hours, there have been various Premier League polls for Saelemaekers, contacts for Pobega from Serie A clubs, and Bayern Munich’s courtship for Theo, along with that of Arabia for Leao. The club in via Aldo Rossi, which according to Ibrahimovic he doesn’t need to sell to buy new players, but he is ready to listen to offers for possible transfers. For around 24 hours, there has been talk of Newcastle’s strong interest in Malick Thiaw. The defender, born in 2001, comes from a season that was not positive compared to his qualities, but remains a player with a safe prospect.
THIAW’S UNCONVINCING SEASON
Arrived in the summer of 2022 for around 7 million euros, the former Schalke 04 player was a favourite of Maldini, who wanted him at all costs as one of the main signings after the Scudetto, and had a good season in his first year in Italy. He didn’t fit in immediately with the team, Stefano Pioli gradually tested him, but from the first few minutes there was the idea of a player who could do well in Italy. His strengths, namely physicality and interceptions, are in line with what Serie A requires. Unfortunately, however, in the season in which he was called upon to make the leap in quality, namely the season just ended, the constant physical problems they have completely paralyzed its growth.
His season perfectly reflects that of Milan, with an emblematic moment: minute 52 of Milan-Borussia Dortmund, fifth (and decisive) match of the Champions League. With the result 1-1, Thiaw gets hurt on a stretch. The diagnosis is injury to the biceps femoris: two months out. From that moment on Milan in the defensive department, already short of men, it will be a disasterKalulu and Tomori will suffer the same fate, and the Rossoneri will see all of their seasonal goals slowly slip away.
In total, Thiaw has played this year 30 gamesbut two of these remain etched in my memory: both against Juve. The first leg, at San Siro, where Thiaw made an incorrect defensive read, letting Kean slip behind him, then committing a last-man foul that cost him the red card, and the return leg, at the Allianz Stadium, where he played a high-level match. Milan played those two games differently, and the German managed to leave his mark, in a positive way, in Turin, with Pioli’s team playing much deeper than usual, and he felt at ease.
MILAN, YOU’RE AT A CROSSROADS: KEEP OR LEAVE?
In light of that match at the end of April against the Juventus, the twenty-two-year-old Rossoneri showed the great leadership and charisma potential that Milanello expects him to emerge. Milan’s valuation of him is around 40 million, a cost that Newcastle would have no problem facing, but only after resolving (by 30 June) the transfers imposed by the financial fair play of the Premier League. Net of a probable offer from the English club (there is talk of a figure of around 45 million euros), is it right that he is the man to sell? And not for example Tomori, who seems to have reached his maximum potential?
In fact, Milan would be looking for a left-footed central defender who can easily create, together with Theo Hernandez, a left-wing chain more functional and practice in building from the ground up. Just Tomori, he has played in that position for the last three years, not showing the same qualities as Thiaw with his feet. Paulo Fonseca, the new devil coach, hasn’t yet had the chance to evaluate the defender, and who knows if the Portuguese coach’s defensive phase might go well with the German’s characteristics.
Another important point is that, if Milan were to choose to sell Thiaw, at that point the chances of keeping all their big names in the squad would increase: Leo, Theo e Maignanand maybe speed up the renewal question for the two Frenchmen, who are eager to discover their future.
