6 AC Milan Players Who Are Fighting for Their Futures in Rest of Season
As the Serie A season heads into its final phase, the offseason—and the transfer carousel—is looming. Before long, AC Milan will join the rest of Europe in chasing the players they think will make them better—and in trimming the fat from their roster.
That's a source of particular concern for Milan, whose roster is incredibly bloated. Even if they do manage to keep hold of sixth place—or win the Coppa Italia final against Juventus—and qualify for European competition for the first time in three years, they could do with paring their squad down to a more reasonable number than the 27 currently on the first team.
In order to assess who should stay and who should go, this part of the season is critical. With the stakes high and Milan's European fate in the balance, these are the games that tell you which players you want on your team and which you can move on from.
Which Milan players have the most to gain—or to lose—as the season's final weeks approach? Let's look at the squad and find out.
Mattia De Sciglio
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Two years ago Mattia De Sciglio was being described without irony as the next Paolo Maldini.
What a difference two years makes.
For whatever reason, De Sciglio has folded since his breakout 2012-13 season. Perhaps the pressure of being compared with one of the greatest defenders the world has ever known was simply too much.
We've seen similar cases over the years, such as that of Sebastian Giovinco at Juventus, who came up through the Bianconeri academy tagged as the next Alessandro Del Piero and struggled as a result.
It probably hasn't helped that he hasn't had a consistent position. With Ignazio Abate entrenched on Milan's right flank, De Sciglio has often had to play on the left. He has the ability to do that, but the constant shuffling between the left and right sides that he's endured over the last few years won't do anything to build the consistent run of form needed for gaining confidence.
Whatever the reason, the 23-year-old is going to have to arrest that fall if he is to stay at Milan. Once considered a potential captain for the Rossoneri, if reports are true the club is already inching him into the expendable column.
According to his agent, who spoke to Tuttosport in February (h/t Football Italia), De Sciglio was "very close to Juventus" during the winter transfer window.
Whether this is an agent trying to stir the pot or a real scenario is still unclear, but if it's true, it suggests that Milan is ready to cut bait on the full-back. If he doesn't show improved play between now and the end of the season, he could see himself on the market.
Kevin-Prince Boateng
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The entire point of Kevin-Prince Boateng's contract was to prove—whether to Milan or someone else—that he could still play.
After being indefinitely benched by Schalke at the end of last season, he was released from his contract at the beginning of the January window and signed a six-month deal with his old club to put himself on display.
So far it hasn't been a pretty one.
Despite scoring a goal on his third appearance to seal a 2-0 win over Fiorentina, Boateng has shown little to convince Milan or any other club that he still has the qualities that once made him worth seven figures.
In his defense, head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has played him primarily as a striker—a role that he's never played before as a pro. But regardless, the 29-year-old has been about as uninspiring as you can get.
Unless he shows something big in the next two months, he's not going to be going anywhere big at the end of his contract.
Jose Mauri
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Of all the flotsam and jetsam that was generated by the collapse of Parma last season, Jose Mauri was the prize.
The midfielder was the jewel in a garbage dump of a year for the unhappy Crusaders, and Milan inked him to a four-year deal this summer and quickly handed him the No. 4 shirt.
Then they didn't play him—at all.
It wasn't until December that Mauri made his Milan debut in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia against Crotone. He's only seen action four times since, only once from the start. He finally saw his Serie A debut for the club last week against Chievo, but only with five minutes left.
Now, though, the 19-year-old may get an opportunity to go. With the midfield hit by injuries, he might see a bit more of the field over the next two or three weeks. If he can use that opportunity to work himself into the rotation more, he could prove to the team that he deserves a bigger role next year.
If he can't make an impact, he'll almost certainly be ticketed for an overdue loan move next season.
Cristian Zapata
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Few players in Serie A are as maddening as Cristian Zapata. There are games, like last month's 1-1 draw against Napoli at the San Paolo, that he's brilliant. Then there are games like the one he had against Crotone in the Coppa Italia in December, when he nearly let Milan get beaten by a Serie B team.
The 29-year-old has been part of the revolving door of partners Alessio Romagnoli has had in the center of Milan's defense all year. Mihajlovic has settled on Alex for the most part in that role, but Zapata has still started 11 times in the league and has got some time in the Coppa as well.
Any playing time Zapata gets as the season comes to a close is going to be important for his future. His contract is up at season's end, and even though he has told Milan Channel (h/t Calciomercato.com) that he has talked with the club over the possibility of a contract extension, there are no concrete indications as to where he might play next season.
Milan will probably be better off getting a player from outside the club like Lorenzo Tonelli to be a long-term partner for Romagnoli, but Zapata still could be kept as depth if they so choose.
If the Colombia international chooses he'd rather find a place to start, his game time would be an audition for clubs looking to sweep him up on a Bosman.
Either way, he needs to overcome his inconsistent tendencies and put up a good run of form to put himself into a good negotiating position going into the summer.
Jeremy Menez
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Jeremy Menez had to wait a long time to get onto the field this year. A recurring back condition kept him out of action until the middle of February.
In spite of that, his 16 goals last year have attracted attention from the Chinese Super League, whose clubs have been sweeping across Europe signing players like Ezequiel Lavezzi.
On Sunday, Menez addressed the attention in an interview with L'Equipe (h/t Football Italia), saying he had been contacted by several Chinese clubs and it was "only human" to consider them.
Some positive form in the home stretch could reignite those rumors. It would also re-establish his value with the club—he's only scored twice since his return, with both goals coming against Alessandria in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal.
Plucky though their run to the semis was, the Grigi are still a third-tier team. Menez hasn't got much of a sniff against Serie A competition. According to WhoScored.com, the 28-year-old hasn't managed to get a shot off in 127 minutes of league play since his return.
With M'Baye Niang out for the season after suffering ankle injuries in a car accident, Menez will have opportunities to work himself back to full form. But if he doesn't, he could permanently lose both his place at Milan and the prospect of a lucrative offer from China.
Mario Balotelli
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If anyone questioned that Mario Balotelli would be on this list, I have a very nice bridge in the East River to sell you.
Perhaps more than anyone else on this roster, the Italy international needs to step up his form as the year closes. Whatever issues—real or perceived—that have plagued his career, the fact of the matter is he's running out of chances to play for top-level teams.
Balotelli is fantastically talented. He's one of the most gifted forwards in the Italian player pool. Domenico Berardi is probably his only real competition in that regard at the moment.
But for whatever reason, he's never allowed himself to tap into that reservoir on a consistent basis. He's ripped off massive streaks of form, like his performances at Euro 2012 and the 13-goal tear he went on when he first arrived at Milan in January of 2013, but he's never put that together for a full season the way a striker with his talent must do to be considered truly elite.
He started this season well, but a sports hernia cost him almost four months. Since his return he hasn't managed to regain the form he showed so tantalizingly in September.
If Balotelli doesn't impress in the next two-and-a-half months, he's going to be in total limbo. Milan likely won't buy him from Liverpool permanently, and it's impossible to tell how Jurgen Klopp will regard him if they don't. If he doesn't fit into the German's ideas, the 25-year-old will have to search out a new team to play for.
The next stretch of games will be a crossroads for the young Italian's career. Will he take the steps he needs to truly realize his potential? Or will he be his generation's version of Antonio Cassano—a vast talent that could never utilize it and end up bouncing around mid-to-low table clubs?
We'll find out by the end of the season.
