The Scudetto race is seldom a sprint and often a marathon, but that doesn’t mean there is no value in getting out the starting blocks early – something AC Milan have done this summer. It is still July and the Rossoneri have already added nine new players.
Lucas Biglia is the latest name to join the cash-rich Rossoneri, a signing that was obscured by the shock capture of Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus. With those last acquisitions, the Lombardy giants have racked up an mammoth €210 million bill — including the buyout clauses of Franck Kessie and Fabio Borini — in the transfer window to transform their side.
With such a major facelift naturally comes renewed optimism and heightened expectations. This is where things get dangerous. Milan have effectively bought a new team — certainly a new starting XI — and with so many new players it will take all of Vincenzo Montella’s coaching acumen to make them gel. At the same time, with such important investments, both fans and the club’s hierarchy will likely be expecting close to an immediate return on investment.
Unfortunately things don’t always pan out that way in football and linear, upward trajectories are seldom the norm. The expectations of the Rossoneri should naturally be an improved position in the league table. In fairness, it should not be that hard given recent seasons when they managed tenth, seventh and sixth place finishes. Although the slow climb up the Serie A chart since the 2014/15 season suggests minor improvements, that empirical evidence is deceptive.
There have been close to no qualitative or substantive improvements during those three years. Both on the pitch or in the boardroom, Milan have been in a constant state of flux, stagnating — and arguably even regressing — due to haphazard signings and coaching changes. This is why this summer’s transfer window has been so impressive, and the new team of CEO Marco Fassone and sporting director Massimo Mirabelli have much to do with it.
Without the promise of Champions League football, the duo have shown the value of getting to work early by closing deals for last campaign’s young revelation Kessie and highly-rated prospect Andre Silva. Their decisiveness and ability to quickly close deals — as seen during the whirlwind 24 hours that preceded Bonucci’s arrival at Casa Milan — has re-energized the fan base.
The Rossoneri can thus surely expect a packed San Siro; but future results and league position are unknown to all. It will be contingent on Montella’s ability to organise the squad and get them to play in a cohesive manner. This will likely present a new challenge to the Italian coach, who is effectively starting a new first season with a side completely different to the one he had 12 months ago. Of course, thanks to Fassone and Mirabelli, he’ll have the entire pre-season with his new recruits to sort it out.
It is hard to decree that Milan are expected to win or even fight for the Scudetto, even if the summer investments understandably dictate it. At the end of the day, the Rossoneri still have a lot of catching up to do. Roma and Napoli have established themselves as consistent forces in Serie A, and Juventus are just as dominant without Bonucci. One summer transfer window cannot erase the clubs’ years of mediocrity or the achievements of their rivals.
What fans should expect however is more entertainment at the San Siro, a qualitatively better team, and for the club to make a fist of the Europa League given their lack of European football since 2013/14. And although unseating Juventus — and Napoli and Roma beforehand — isn’t the most reasonable of asks, a fourth place finish is the least supporters and the club hierarchy can ask of Montella and his troops after such an important financial effort.
The club has already achieved vast improvements in the board room and on the transfer market so far, now it is time to show it on the pitch and through quality performances first and foremost. Anything more, in terms of results, should be considered bonus.
