One of the priorities Massimiliano Allegri has is to fix the defence, and an Arsenal duo are targets: Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior.
As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, the Ukrainian is a full-back with a past as an attacking midfielder; the Pole is a centre-back but often and willingly adapted to other areas of the pitch. To simplify a bit, two defenders.
The common opinion of almost everyone at Milan – starting with Igli Tare and Allegri – is that the defence must be fixed. The numbers say it too: in the last three league campaigns, the Rossoneri have never gone below the threshold of 40 goals conceded.
Max always starts from solidity when building his teams. Here too, the numbers don’t lie: in the eleven seasons in which he was at the helm of a big team (Milan and Juventus) from start to finish, the coach never conceded more than 39 goals in Serie A.
Oleksandr Zinchenko of Arsenal
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
A reinforcement on the left
Of course, the balance of a team is not achieved by changing individuals alone. It will also be necessary to work on tactics and mentality, but Allegri will take care of that from July 7 onwards.
Now, however, the Rossoneri market men are looking for possible players to add to the squad, also following the logic of exits. Theo Hernandez rejected Al-Hilal, but he is no longer in Milan’s plans.
Whether the Frenchman finds another team in the summer (he has a verbal agreement with Atletico Madrid, who at the moment offer too little to the Rossoneri) or remains separated at home until his contract expires, changes little in terms of strategy.
Tare is already working on the left back of the future and Zinchenko’s candidacy, in terms of level and experience, is strong. Pep Guardiola invented him as a left back at Manchester City, then the move to Arsenal, where after two positive years last season he lost positions in Arteta’s hierarchy.
So, at 28 years old he could change clubs and Milan are an option. Also because the price could be affordable (less than €15m), given that the Ukrainian’s contract expires in 2026. In London, Zinchenko earns €5m net and obviously the Rossoneri strategy is to try to spread the salary over several seasons at a much lower figure.
But the Ukrainian’s name is not the only one on the list. Allegri, for example, would be very happy to coach Andrea Cambiaso again, who he launched as a starter at Juve after the year in Bologna. Just as he appreciates another Azzurri player, Destiny Udogie, fresh from winning the Europa League.
These are two profiles, however, that have a decidedly more expensive price tag. Meanwhile, the Maxim De Cuyper idea – another left-back, at Club Brugge – also remains alive.
la gazzetta dello sport 12 june
In the centre
Zinchenko is an idea for the flank, but Milan also need to strengthen in the middle, especially if one of the current centre-backs in the squad were to leave, as is likely to happen.
Malick Thiaw is courted above all by Leverkusen, even if for now there is no agreement between the Germans and the Diavolo on the valuation (Milan wants at least €30m); Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic are popular in the Premier League with the Englishman most likely to leave.
Tomori had already been practically sold to both Juventus and Tottenham in the winter, before the player’s refusal. The Serbian, on the other hand, should stay unless a bid comes forward that is too good to decline.
Tare has however started to look around. Kiwior is a popular profile for his versatility, he knows Serie A (he spent a year and a half at Spezia) and has a fair amount of international experience, with Arsenal and the national team.
Left-footed and almost 1.9m tall, the Pole was used by Thiago Motta in midfield at Spezia, while in London he occasionally played as a left-back. His forte, however, is precisely as a centre-back, where he plays for his national team.
In recent months, after Gabriel’s injury, he has also found continuity at Arsenal, not looking out of place in a pair with Saliba even in top-level contexts such as the Champions League semi-finals.
Naturally, there are other candidates for the centre-back position too: from Lazio’s Mario Gila to the youngsters Pietro Comuzzo from Fiorentina (he turned down Arabia) and Giovanni Leoni at Parma. More experienced names are Beraj Djimsiti from Atalanta and Niklas Sule from Dortmund.