Outlook for AC Milan Fringe Players Under Sinisa Mihajlovic in 2015-16
As the 2015-16 season approaches, Sinisa Mihajlovic is preparing for his first season as head man at AC Milan. Through preseason training and friendlies, he's going to have a lot of decisions to make.
One of Milan's problems is the fact that they have a massively bloated roster. It's a vestige of the years when European competition was simply a given and depth was very much needed. With Europe out of the picture for the second consecutive year, there are a lot of players who are very much on the fringes of the roster.
Milan's transfer activity has certainly forced those players even further from the center. The forward line in particular is massively crowded after the arrival of Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano.
In midfield the signing Andrea Bertolacci and Simone Verdi has cut into the elbow room, and if the team manages a deal with Zenit St. Petersburg for Axel Witsel—whose agent confirmed in a TV interview with Antenna 3 (h/t Football Italia) that he has agreed personal terms with the team—there will be even more of a crowd.
What might become of these players? Let's go through the team section-by-section and find out.
Goalkeeper
According to their official website, there are currently five goalkeepers on the first team. Of those five, three are outside the inner circle—Michael Agazzi, Gabriel and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Of the three Agazzi is the one who is completely out of the team's future plans. He may stay on as the third-choice keeper behind Diego Lopez and Christian Abbiati, but he's not going to be around for an extended period of time.
Gabriel and Donnarumma are both youth-team products. One might joke that given the way the club has handled its young players the last few years that that could be a detriment to them. But fantastic as Lopez was last season he's not a long-term solution in goal. The two youngsters will be prime candidates to replace him in the future.
Gabriel, a 22-year-old Brazilian international, spent last season on loan at Carpi and excelled, setting a new Serie B record for clean sheets (23 in 39 games). According to Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) he is likely headed back to the Biancorossi to be their No. 1 as they make their Serie A debut next season.
He had some Serie A experience with Milan, but a full season of games will be a valuable piece to his development. If he plays well, Milan could bring him on to replace Abbiati when his contract is up at season's end.
It will also help him fend off Donnarumma, who at 16 is already receiving comparisons to another famous goalkeeper named Gianluigi. The 16-year-old has been such a standout in Milan's Primavera side that Metro reported the interest of both Chelsea and Manchester United in late May. The youngster will likely be playing as the Primavera's top keeper next season, with an eye towards a possible loan next year.
Defense
Milan's defensive line is so shambolic that it's hard to identify anyone who is truly a fringe player because they get rotated in and out of the lineup so often.
There are two exceptions to that rule. The first is Cristian Zapata. The Colombian center-back fell out of favor with Filippo Inzaghi last year, appearing in only 12 matches. In spite of that he was still thought of highly enough in the Colombian national setup to start all four games in the Copa America.
Given the state of the defense and the current lack of high-quality imports in the transfer market, it's highly likely that Zapata will be given the chance to earn himself a spot in the back line. If he doesn't crack the lineup, or at least the rotation, he could start seeking playing time elsewhere, possibly even in January.
The same might not be said of Cristian Zaccardo, who was almost entirely ignored last season.
He played in only three games, but they were eventful ones. He racked up a goal, an assist and a red card over the course of those contests, but was only ever considered a serious option when Inzaghi was in the absolute direst of selection crises. Expect that to be the state of things again if he remains on the roster.
Midfield
The arrival of Mihajlovic and the team's transfer activity are both going to have an adverse effect on Andrea Poli's playing time.
Mihajlovic is likely to install a formation that calls for a trequartista, which Poli certainly is not. The arrival of Andrea Bertolacci and the surprise contract renewal of Nigel de Jong also seem to freeze him out of a place deeper in midfield, while Riccardo Montolivo is likely to be in the regista spot simply on seniority's sake.
Poli is a player that is probably more of a squad man on a team that reaches the heights Milan aspires to regain.He's a hard worker, but unless the midfield sees some injuries it's unlikely he'll see much of the field. He might be a loan candidate in January if he doesn't get enough playing time.
Another midfield man who may have a problem seeing the field is Suso. It took him a few months to get on the field after arriving in January, and when he did play it was as a winger. But the young Spaniard is a mid by trade, and along with Simone Verdi may get a crack at the trequartista spot if Miha indeed uses one.
The presumed incumbent for that kind of position would be Keisuke Honda, so the two youngsters are going to have to impress to get playing time. One of them still could be loaned out—Verdi seems the likelier candidate of the two if the club chooses that route considering the money they paid for Suso—but if not, they'll serve as midfield depth and have to take advantage of their opportunities.
Forward
This season will be an important one for M'baye Niang. Loaned out in the winter transfer window the last two seasons, the youngster impressed at Genoa during the second half of last season. Even more important, he had success both on the flanks and in the center under Gian Piero Gasperini.
At this point Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano are almost certainly ahead of him in the pecking order, but if the two of them prove too similar to use together, he could jump in and try to find a niche as a seconda punta. If, however, he falls victim to the numbers game, he could very well be send packing on loan for a third consecutive year—at which point you have to start questioning whether he has a future with the club.
Alessio Cerci is another player that has a chance to impress as a seconda punta in Mihajlovic's system. This column discussed just such an opportunity last month, and it's one Mihajlovic should afford him. Extended playing time—something he didn't get at Atletico Madrid or Milan last year—will be a big help to him. Look for Cerci to have a much bigger impact on the team this year than last year, whether it be as a regular starter or as a frequent bench contributor.
Lastly when it comes to forwards is Alessandro Matri, who has been bouncing around to so many places over the past two years that it's difficult to remember he's still technically a Milan player.
It's hard to imagine him coming anywhere close to Milan's starting XI unless the rest of the forwards are hit by buses. The team would probably love to sell him, and last year may have piqued the interest of some clubs.
He had an excellent first half of the season at Genoa, scoring seven times and notching five assists. In January, Juventus came calling, and his loan was transferred to Turin. Always expected to be nothing more than depth, he managed four starts in late-season dead rubbers and was given a few cameos in the Champions League.
It was his performance in the Coppa Italia that again turned heads. He was a major catalyst in the second leg of the semifinal, beating Fiorentina 3-0 in their building and turning a 2-1 aggregate deficit going in into a dominating win. Coming on as a late sub in the final, Matri scuffed one chance before burying a goal in the 97th minute to give the trophy to Juve for the first time in 20 years.
Look for the team to shop him throughout the window. Either in a full purchase or on a loan with an option to buy, Matri is unlikely to stay a Milan player much longer.
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