5 Defenders AC Milan Should Target in the 2015 Summer Transfer Window
The picture above is emblematic of the problems AC Milan has had in defense the last few years.
It comes from midway through the second half of April's Derby della Madonnina, the twice-yearly intercity clash between Milan and Inter that, in this period of struggle for the two clubs, is currently the biggest day on their respective calendars. With the game scoreless, center back Philippe Mexes—the highest paid player on the team—poked the ball past Diego Lopez and into his own net.
In this instance, Mexes was spared the ultimate embarrassment of an own goal in a derby when Inter's Rodrigo Palacio committed a foul in the buildup play, but it was yet another moment for Milan fans to bury their faces in their hands and wonder how a team with such a great defensive legacy has gotten things so wrong at the back.
This is the club of Costacurta, Nesta, Baresi and Maldini. Even as little as three years ago they had one of the best center backs in the game on their squad in Thiago Silva. But since the Brazilian was sold to Paris Saint-Germain, the back line has gone to the dogs.
Defense is the one major area of need for Milan heading into the summer transfer window, particularly in the middle of the field. Transfer chief Adriano Galliani needs to get the team reinforcements there as fast as possible.
Here are five men who could go a long way to helping the Rossoneri return their defense to its former glory.
Angelo Ogbonna
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Two summers ago, Angelo Ogbonna made the move across Turin and joined Juventus from Torino. Since then, he just hasn't been able to settle.
A lot of the problem has been his place on Juve's depth chart. He was coming in with Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini—three of the top 15 or 20 center backs in the world—already entrenched at the top. The presence of Martin Caceres, who had impressed in Juve's three-man back line under Antonio Conte, was also in front of him in the pecking order.
He also had to get used to playing in a three-man line after playing in a four-man line while with Torino. Last season he never looked quite comfortable, which made his performance over the first two months of the season heartening. Injuries to Barzagli and Caceres forced him into the lineup, and he responded well. For a while, he looked like Juve's most-improved player of the year.
But when Massimiliano Allegri switched the team back to a four-man system, Ogbonna struggled to shift gears back to the old way. He struggled to develop chemistry with Leonardo Bonucci, his most frequent partner, and ended up responsible for some of the lowest moments in Juve's season, especially the 2-1 home loss to Fiorentina in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals.
With Caceres due to return from injury and the promising young Daniele Rugani due to return from loan, Ogbonna may be surplus to requirements in Turin next year. Despite his struggles with the Bianconeri, he is still a supremely talented defender who can make an impact on a team like Milan.
The Rossoneri aren't strangers to courting the 27-year-old. Enis Koylu of Goal linked the two as far back as 2011, when the Granata were still in Serie B. The move would benefit both parties. Milan would get a major upgrade in the middle of defense, and Ogbonna would get the consistent playing time he's sorely lacked the last two years.
Aymen Abdennour
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Tunisia international Aymen Abdennour garnered attention this year during Monaco's Champions League run.
The principality side had the stingiest defensive unit in the competition this year. They only conceded five times—and only once in the six games of the group stage. The 25-year-old was a key part of the impressive group that made it possible.
Abdennour is not the only Monaco player attracting attention, and the Ligue 1 side is no longer the financial titan it threatened to be after its owners aborted their high-spending ways before last year. They may be susceptible to the right offer for their center back, but it's going to take a hefty fee to get him to Milan.
Lorenzo Tonelli
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Daniele Rugani was the more heralded of Empoli's defensive pairing this year, but his partner Lorenzo Tonelli played just as large a part in the Azzurri's defense.
Tonelli partnered well with Rugani this year. He's not the kind of defender that puts up counting stats, but a quick look at the detailed statistics offered by WhoScored.com shows that he hasn't often needed to. According to its numbers, he only allowed an opponent to dribble around him once in every two games on average. He also won a bit more than three-quarters of his aerial duels and made six clearances per match.
His efforts helped Empoli—considered by most to be the weakest side in the league going into the season—surprise the pundits and finish a solid eight points above the drop zone. Even more impressive was their defensive effort, which ranked 11th in the league and better than four teams that were ahead of them in the standings, including Napoli.
Tonelli also made an impressive contribution at the other end, scoring five times this season—including once against the Rossoneri.
Of the pair, Rugani is obviously heading back to Juve, but it's unclear what might happen to Tonelli, who has been with Empoli since he entered their academy in 2000. No reports or rumors have connected him with Milan, but he's a player the team should be keeping track of. He's young enough, at 25, to contribute for a long time, and he offers a major upgrade to the team's back line.
Joel Veltman
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Another product of the vaunted Ajax youth program, Joel Veltman has experience at the very highest levels of European competition.
This year he had to mark the likes of Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Champions League, and he did well. According to WhoScored, he made 3.2 tackles and 2.6 interceptions in Champions League play, and when Ajax was bumped down to the Europa League, those numbers soared to 3.7 tackles per match and an otherworldly 5.7 interceptions.
In particular, the interception numbers suggest that he has the awareness and intelligence to quickly fit into the hyper-tactical style of play that is the hallmark of Serie A.
It doesn't hurt that Milan has a long history of success with Dutch players. Veltman isn't prohibitively expensive—Transfermarkt estimates his value at €4.5 million—and comes from a setup known for turning out quality products and then offloading them.
Given the history of Dutch players in the team and Veltman's obvious quality, there's no excuse for Milan to not at least be watching the player.
Vlad Chiriches
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Vlad Chiriches is one of the most experienced players on the Romanian national team, but he's had a hard time getting onto the field at Tottenham Hotspur.
A strong tackler and good reader of play, when Chiriches did get on the field he played fairly well. He was particularly good at intercepting the ball—WhoScored.com clocked him at 2.7 per match in league play and a whopping five per match in four appearances in the Europa League.
Like Veltman, this suggests a quick brain that can read the game and process the tactics that rule Serie A.
Based on his match selection this season, Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino prefers three or four players ahead of Chiriches, who at 25 has already been capped for Romania 31 times—more than all but four of his teammates on the current international squad. Chiriches is experienced and, at an estimated €8 million (via Transfermarkt), relatively affordable.
Milan could do a lot worse than having Chiriches in their squad.
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