After three promising signings, Milan fans began to believe. UCL spot is looming, and this season seems to look very bright indeed. However, the departure of El Shaarawy has shocked many Milanistas. The once future star of The Rossoneri has been sold to Monaco. Even more worrying is the likely transfer of Mastour to PSG. So, what lies for us this season?
Reference:
* very poor
** poor
*** average
**** good
***** very good
Defence: ** (without Romagnoli) *** (with Romagnoli)
This is still our weakest link. Last season, our defence was terrible. Leaking easy goals especially from set pieces. This problem were not dealt with even during the days of Allegri. Now, it does not look good either. Especially in the heart of the defence. Zapata and Mexes are in no way good enough to perform consistently. While Alex most likely will go to Santos. That leaves us with Paletta who I believe is the only decent and slightly reliable CB that we have. We need one or two quality and solid CB to lead the line. A solid defence is essential in modern day football, without one we will not be able to compete for a UCL spot or the Scudetto. Let's hope Romagnoli and another quality CB will come this Mercato. It looks more promising for us in LB and RB with De Sciglio, Abate (if they can stay fit) and Antonelli. Luckily we also have last seasons outstanding performer Diego Lopez in goal.
Midfield: ****
The Midfield does not look too bad at all. Maybe the arrival of Bertolacci and hopefully Witsel or Gundogan will add more solidness and creativity in the middle of the park. The players at our disposal are also quality players if they perform to their fullest potential and guided by a reliable coach. Any coach would be glad to have players such as De Jong, Montolivo, Honda and Bonaventura in their team. Add with Poli and Suso which can be a good and reliable replacements. This midfield with proper tactics can give any team a run for their money. Let's just hope the new arrivals come and add more depth to this department.
Attacks/Forwards: ****(without Ibra), ***** (with Ibra, without Matri)
This is the position that excites me the most. Bacca, Adriano, Menez, Mastour (if he stays) and the one that will complete the puzzle is Ibrahimovic. Say what you want about Ibra, but he is a winner. While it will be very dissapointing for the long term to lose Mastour, but having Ibra back in the team would be huge especially for short term success. Based on his form at PSG, he still got what it takes to perform at this level at least for two more seasons. As long as they receive support and supply that is needed from the midfield, this strikeforce will deliver the goods and score goals.
To sum it up, things look promising for us this season. However, the most important factor is whether we strenghten the defence or not. I believe this is the key to our success this coming season. It is our weakest link and more additions are needed in this department to even dream of challenging Juve or most importantly qualify for the Champions League. Forza Milan.
