Why AC Milan Should Consider Selling Philippe Mexes in January

Since joining Milan, it’s fair to say that Philippe Mexes has had a bumpy ride. His form has been inconsistent and his temperament a source of torment not only for himself but for his teammates. Thus, Milan’s decision to renew his contract at the end of last season came as a shock.

The Frenchman was a liability during Filippo Inzaghi’s one and only season as head coach of the Rossoneri. Poor Pippo, scrambling constantly to find some sort of vague consistency, often had to throw Mexes into the heart of his defence, even when it became plainly obvious he wasn’t capable.

In 2014/15, Mexes earned his worst-ever average rating per WhoScored. His 6.94 score was an indictment of slipping standards punctuated by slowing legs and continuous behavioural issues, the most prominent of which was his throttling of Lazio’s Stefano Mauri, from whom he had to be physically separated before being sent off.

His contract was all set for expiry come the summer of 2015. The assumption was that—as poor as their decision-making has been in recent years—even the Milan hierarchy had come to realise what the fans already knew: that Mexes was no longer useful to the club.

Then, Mexes made a public plea confessing his desire to remain with the club, and a short time later, he was rewarded with a new one-year deal.

The decision was a confusing one. At a time when Milan were supposedly moving forward with a new coach, grand plans and bold transfer targets, there seemed little requirement for Mexes to stay on.

Soon, the reasoning became clear. While Milan were prepared to spend lavish amounts on new signings, most of those brought in were attack-minded players. Strikers Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano and Mario Balotelli joined, as did creative midfielder Andrea Bertolacci.

The only true defensive reinforcement came in the form of Alessio Romagnoli, a player who undoubtedly improved Milan’s options in central defence, but nonetheless the list of potential partners for the youngster made for underwhelming reading.

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The cumbersome Cristian Zapata and the unproven youngster Rodrigo Ely have earmarked themselves as the most likely candidates for the other centre-back role, while agricultural Brazilian Alex seems to be just behind them in the pecking order. That leaves Mexes down low on a pretty uninspiring list.

According to Gazzetta World, Milan have spent the third-highest on player salaries in Serie A. Only Juventus and Roma, who finished first and second in the league last season, have higher payouts than Milan—who finished 10th—in this particular area.

Mexes earns €1.5 million per annum, which puts him in the same pay bracket as the likes of Zapata, Mattia de Sciglio, Juraj Kucka and Andrea Poli, all of whom are likely to have more first-team involvement than the French defender this season.

Others, such as youngsters Ely and M’Baye Niang, as well as flying left-back Luca Antonelli and midfield connector Giacomo Bonaventura—both of whom are Italian internationals—are paid less than Mexes.

At 33 years old, Mexes is the most expendable player on Milan’s books; he’d have to compete merely to make the Rossoneri’s second-string lineup. This status doesn’t correlate with his pay, and given Milan’s aforementioned high wage bill, the club should consider offloading Mexes if and when the opportunity should arise.

Come January 2016, Mihajlovic’s methods will be ingrained, and the coach should have a better idea of those he does and doesn’t need. Barring a miracle, Mexes will be in the latter camp. Milan should aim to further strengthen their back line and, if so, freeing up Mexes’ wages would give extra clout for investment in this area of the team.