Since I can't sleep and my last posts remain unanswered I might as well share some thoughts.
I think we've had an absolutely fantastic mercato so far and the reasons are many layered.
Overall, we were close last year with a squad no one cherished. The players were a mix of the mediocrity of the Galliani years with the main build blocks from the disastrous 2017 window. Still we were almost in CL contention.
I love Maldini a lot. I know everyone in here loves him, but I've always thought of him highly even tho I know he was only a football player. He seemed intelligent as a player and as a retiree, and when he boarded the plane last summer I felt a thousand times more wonderful than when Leo was confirmed. Not because he knows football, but because coolness, 30 years in the business as an observer and intelligence really matters. The resignations of Rino and Leo where like lightning bolts in here because of the uncertainty that they created. The way Gazidis dealt with that situation and the subsequent yes of Maldini and then Boban meant for me that we had the coolest thinkers and lookers in football in charge. And they're ambitious.
What happened first? We bid farewell to two tumours and one mediocrity in Montolivo, Bertolacci and Mauri. The decision to set Zapata free caused a lot of turmoil but memory is short and we all know how insecure he looked in the four(?) previous seasons before he finally looked ready in the last one. Not da Milan.
Krunic was confirmed early. What to think? Well for one thing he looked like an agile and able player to bolster our bench from those videos, and to an extent that he might be clawing at the first XI in a way we haven't experienced since... Well?
With building momentum we confirmed Giampaolo as our coach. I'm an instinctive guy and I sure as shit won't write a dissertation on his tactics, but this is a real coach loved in Italy with an offensive mode of play. His experience, charisma and classy confidence in himself have been calming factors in the whole of the summer. He's a the helm and it's spreading confidence to players as well as fans.
Rodriguez has been a source of immense frustration among the posters in here, Maldini himself moved with purpose and confidence to sign Theo Hernandez as our starting LB. A marvellous move. The way Theo seemed both ready and awed at the press conference gave me immense belief.
Bennacer and Duarte arrived after saga-like proportions, especially for the former. Both sagas were tell tales of how little the media knew, with Kabak, Demiral, Veretout and other being strongly rumoured to be our targets. Duarte is of course a complete unknown but all signs point to him being very talented. Bennacer have not only his AFCON credentials but solid seasons in Serie A to back up his promise.
Leao came out of the blue but packs plenty of promise. We must remember that we already have a strong group, and although the numerical rotation is substantial our core remains largely untouched. Leao arrives with an important price tag but not big stats expectations which I think is healthy.
In summary I will say wee have a strong defense and midfield but still lack competitiveness in the final third. Signing Correa will definitely address this problem, but I wonder if it's enough for a 10/10. With Correa arriving I'm landing on a 9,5/10, with the surprising effectiveness and ability Maldini has shown on the market with limited resources. Modric would be fantastic but somewhat Gallianiesque with the treq position lacking a serious reinforcement before we can count ourselves on paper as a given contender for top 3.
There's a lot of work to do, and I expect frustrating August and Septembers results wise.
Forza Milan my brothers. May we join our birthright company next fall!
