AC Milan will officially begin the 2015 2016 season on August 23rd, when they play an away match at
Fiorentina for the opening weekend of the latest Serie A campaign. For now, though, the summer transfer window is still wide open, and the Red and Blacks are taking advantage of it by continuing their streak of signings. This week it was announced that AC Milan signs Alessio Romagnoli, in total the club has brought nine new transfers aboard since June, several of whom have been quite expensive-including Roma midfielder Andrea Bertolacci, Sevilla forward Carlos Bacca, and Luis Adriano, who was a star of last year's Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Red and Blacks have paid reported transfer fee of €25 million to bring another Roma player to Milan, Alessio Romagnoli. He is a 20-year-old center back who came up in Roma's youth program before starting his senior career in 2012. He spent the last soccer season on loan to Sampdoria, but Milan will be the second "permanent" home of his budding football career.
A Versatile Star in the MakingÂ
Perhaps the first thing that is worth knowing about Alessio Romagnoli is that he has been tipped by ESPN
as the man "meant to lead the Milan and Italy defense for years to come." Spotted as a child by Bruno
Notti-Roma's legendary winger and manager-Romagnoli actually played as central midfielder in his early days with Roma's youth academy. Though he is certainly meant to play in a defensive position, Alessio developed versatility and technique in his days playing in the midfield that many other defenders lack.
For instance, Romagnoli is not content to just hang out at the back of the field and clear out the goal box all day-though he is certainly capable of doing that. In two of his 30 Serie A appearances with Sampdoria last season, Alessio broke away from the defense zone to move the ball up the field and ultimately, score goals. He's one of those skilled young football players who would probably be comfortable playing at any position.
Milan's Need for Strong Defenders
If there is one thing that AC Milan needs for the new season, it's fresh defensive blood. In 2014 2015,
the Red and Blacks finished 10th, conceding a total of 50 goals. In comparison, the league-winning Juventus squad only allowed 24 goals. That's also the same number of goals that Milan allowed during
2010 2011 season-the last time they won the title.
Granted, extra offensive strength won't hurt the Red and Blacks, which explains why newly appointed AC Milan manager Siniša Mihajlovi? spent big to bring in the likes of Bacca, Bertolacci, and Adriano this summer. Still, Romagnoli could end up being the key signing of the summer for AC Milan, just for how he will help to cut down on the football club's "goals against" tally. Sampdoria only allowed 42 goals last season, and finished three slots above Milan despite scoring eight fewer goals (48, versus 56).
Romagnoli should also be able to hit the ground running at San Siro, thanks to his existing relationship with Mihajlovi?. Mihajlovi?, of course, has coached at Sampdoria for the past two seasons. He's the one who brought Alessio to Sampdoria on a €500,000 with an option to purchase, and when he moved to AC Milan, he fought to take that option with him. In other words, while the AC Milan home jersey 2015 2016 will be the first soccer shirt that Romagnoli wears for the Red and Blacks, he will have a relationship with the head coach that most of his teammates won't.
An Expensive SummerÂ
Since taking the AC Milan job, Mihajlovi?'s approach has been to spend a lot of money on high-profile signings. Between Romagnoli, Bacca, Bertolacci, Adriano, and a handful of other cash signings, Mihajlovi? has spent some €83.5 million this summer-and the transfer window isn't even closed yet. By comparison, Filippo Inzaghi didn't even spend €17 million last summer. So either Mihajlovi?'s plan is going to work out and return AC Milan to powerhouse status, or he's going to be sacked for spending so much for a soccer squad that didn't work. Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Follow @soccerboxcom
Fiorentina for the opening weekend of the latest Serie A campaign. For now, though, the summer transfer window is still wide open, and the Red and Blacks are taking advantage of it by continuing their streak of signings. This week it was announced that AC Milan signs Alessio Romagnoli, in total the club has brought nine new transfers aboard since June, several of whom have been quite expensive-including Roma midfielder Andrea Bertolacci, Sevilla forward Carlos Bacca, and Luis Adriano, who was a star of last year's Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Red and Blacks have paid reported transfer fee of €25 million to bring another Roma player to Milan, Alessio Romagnoli. He is a 20-year-old center back who came up in Roma's youth program before starting his senior career in 2012. He spent the last soccer season on loan to Sampdoria, but Milan will be the second "permanent" home of his budding football career.
A Versatile Star in the MakingÂ
Perhaps the first thing that is worth knowing about Alessio Romagnoli is that he has been tipped by ESPN
as the man "meant to lead the Milan and Italy defense for years to come." Spotted as a child by Bruno
Notti-Roma's legendary winger and manager-Romagnoli actually played as central midfielder in his early days with Roma's youth academy. Though he is certainly meant to play in a defensive position, Alessio developed versatility and technique in his days playing in the midfield that many other defenders lack.
For instance, Romagnoli is not content to just hang out at the back of the field and clear out the goal box all day-though he is certainly capable of doing that. In two of his 30 Serie A appearances with Sampdoria last season, Alessio broke away from the defense zone to move the ball up the field and ultimately, score goals. He's one of those skilled young football players who would probably be comfortable playing at any position.
Milan's Need for Strong Defenders
If there is one thing that AC Milan needs for the new season, it's fresh defensive blood. In 2014 2015,
the Red and Blacks finished 10th, conceding a total of 50 goals. In comparison, the league-winning Juventus squad only allowed 24 goals. That's also the same number of goals that Milan allowed during
2010 2011 season-the last time they won the title.
Granted, extra offensive strength won't hurt the Red and Blacks, which explains why newly appointed AC Milan manager Siniša Mihajlovi? spent big to bring in the likes of Bacca, Bertolacci, and Adriano this summer. Still, Romagnoli could end up being the key signing of the summer for AC Milan, just for how he will help to cut down on the football club's "goals against" tally. Sampdoria only allowed 42 goals last season, and finished three slots above Milan despite scoring eight fewer goals (48, versus 56).
Romagnoli should also be able to hit the ground running at San Siro, thanks to his existing relationship with Mihajlovi?. Mihajlovi?, of course, has coached at Sampdoria for the past two seasons. He's the one who brought Alessio to Sampdoria on a €500,000 with an option to purchase, and when he moved to AC Milan, he fought to take that option with him. In other words, while the AC Milan home jersey 2015 2016 will be the first soccer shirt that Romagnoli wears for the Red and Blacks, he will have a relationship with the head coach that most of his teammates won't.
An Expensive SummerÂ
Since taking the AC Milan job, Mihajlovi?'s approach has been to spend a lot of money on high-profile signings. Between Romagnoli, Bacca, Bertolacci, Adriano, and a handful of other cash signings, Mihajlovi? has spent some €83.5 million this summer-and the transfer window isn't even closed yet. By comparison, Filippo Inzaghi didn't even spend €17 million last summer. So either Mihajlovi?'s plan is going to work out and return AC Milan to powerhouse status, or he's going to be sacked for spending so much for a soccer squad that didn't work. Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Follow @soccerboxcom
