4 European Under-21 Stars Who Should Be on AC Milan's Radar

The European Under-21 Championship came to a close on Tuesday, and with it, our look at the latest set of Europe's best youngsters.

There's always danger in signing a player off of a good performance in a tournament, but young stars like these should be kept track of, especially when a team is in a rebuilding phase like AC Milan.

Even though the Italian U21s underachieved in the Czech Republic, there were still plenty of players in the eight-team tournament who Milan should be tracking. Some of them could even turn into major building blocks as the team looks to climb back to the top of the Serie A and beyond.

Who from the U21 Euros should Milan be keeping an eye on? Let's look at four youngsters who could make a difference for the Rossoneri.

Alexander Scholz

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Scholz's stock is rising in Belgium.

Alexander Scholz had an absolutely fantastic tournament. In Denmark's four games, the center-back played every minute, and his stats were impressive.

According to WhoScored.com, he made 3.8 tackles and 3.5 clearances per match. It's actually an interesting number, because in five games in the Europa League with Lokeren, he only averaged one tackle per game, evening that out with an average of 2.7 interceptions (compared with 0.3 for Denmark this summer). His clearance numbers—5.2 per game in the Europa League—are similar.

Taken together, even though the sample sizes are similar, these numbers show a developing young defender with a lot of talent, something Milan needs badly.

Ever since the departures of Thiago Silva and Alessandro Nesta, the Rossoneri have been terrible on the back line. While some recent acquisitions like Alex and Gabriel Paletta may provide a decent stopgap, the team needs a young player who can grow into the keystone of the defense.

Scholz spent the last half of the season at Standard Liege, a step up in the Jupiler Pro League. He's also already produced on big stages, giving Lokeren the Belgian Cup last year with a powerful header for the only goal of the game.

If he produces in the upper reaches of the Belgian league and again in the Europa League, he could be a young player to keep an eye on as a building piece for Milan's back four, perhaps as early as January.

Daniele Baselli

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Negotiations for Baselli are ongoing.

Milan picked up Baselli with their spider sense a while ago, but he deserves inclusion on this list because Milan still need to seal the deal.

The last report—which came from Baselli's agent in an interview with Radio Kiss Kiss (h/t Football Italia) last Wednesday—was that Milan and Atalanta were still in negotiations, and that a move would depend on how much playing time Baselli might find at the San Siro.

A midfielder with a creative bent and a great motor, Baselli would be a major asset to Milan's midfield. With him in the side, the midfield would be a much stronger unit. This is a deal that has been in the works for a while, but Milan need to be sure that this one goes through.

Paulo Oliveira

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Oliveira (No.4) helped Portugal to the final.

A starter in all five games of the tournament, Oliveira is another good young center-back. His reading of the game is excellent, as evidenced by the three interceptions he averaged in the competition, per WhoScored.com.

Apart from his excellent performance in the Czech Republic, Oliveira has a ton of experience. He's a two-time winner of the Taca de Portugal, once with Guimaraes and once with his current club Sporting, one of Portugal's Big Three.

He played in both the Champions League and the Europa League last season, putting up decent numbers in both. That kind of experience is hugely attractive for a team like Milan, whose current center-back corps lacks big-competition experience.

Like Scholz, Oliveira could be a young building block for Milan's back line.  

Bernardo Silva

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Silva has been a revelation at Monaco.

One of the things Milan lacked last season was creativity in the attacking third. Keisuke Honda might be able to provide that if he's used properly, but under Filippo Inzaghi, he was used as a winger, negating the gifts he possesses when deployed centrally as an attacking midfielder.

Silva could go a long way toward solving that problem. He's been a revelation at Monaco this year, making 25 starts in Ligue 1, scoring nine times and notching three assists. Six of those goals and two of those assists came in the last two months of the season, helping to key the principality side's late surge into third place and a spot in the Champions League playoff.

A shifty player who can pass and finish with equal skill, Silva's game at times evokes that of Kaka. The 20-year-old has already been capped at the senior level and is certainly going to go on to bigger things than Monaco.

There may be legitimate questions as to whether or not Milan currently qualifies as such, but it's unlikely the Portuguese starlet will leave Monaco this year. If Milan can pull themselves out of their tailspin and give some form of hope for the future, they might have a better shot at getting him when he finally does hit the market.

Regardless, Milan should keep an eye on the youngster. If they manage to get their hands on him, he could go a long way toward restoring the potency of their attack.