A.C.Milan: What Kind of Player Do Milan Need the Most This January?

January is fast approaching, and for European clubs, this means the final chance for teams to reinforce their squads in preparation of the business end of the season. Today, the European season is a long one and acquiring a player or two midway can be greatly benefit a club pushing for honours.

This is none more so the case with Milan this season. Currently in first place in the Serie A, the Rossoneri have laid their claim for the Scudetto with a run of impressive performances and results including the derby victory two weeks ago over Inter.

Despite Milan’s achievements thus far, under the guidance of new coach Max Allegri, it is still a team that requires reinforcements come January.

Much has been said about Milan’s lack of depth and the age of its players. These are two serious issues the club has to address but has failed to do so adequately in recent years.

This year, the Rossoneri are looking a good bet for the Scudetto. However, the club’s hierarchy would do well to bring in additional player or two to ensure Allegri’s men are better equipped for the latter stages of the season.

At the start of the season, it seemed there were too many options for Allegri in attack with Pato, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ibrahimovic and Inzaghi all on the roster. Now, however, with the loss of Pippo Inzaghi for the remainder of the season along with Alexandre Pato’s tendency to succumb to injury on a monthly basis, the Milan attack is looking much more lightweight than it did at the start of the campaign.

For this reason, there has been much speculation about Milan signing a striker in January. Certainly, another striker is needed given the circumstances, but one questions whether it really is a striker that Milan needs the most.

There are two other areas in which Milan desperately need new and preferably younger legs.

One is the midfield. Clarence Seedorf, for instance, is 35-years-old. As it stands, he is the only natural trequartista for Allegri. Yet, given his age, he cannot be expected to play week in week out for the remainder of the season. A substitute is required. Kaka has been mooted as a possible replacement, whilst the likes of the Palermo star, Javier Pastore, and Brazilian prodigy, Ganso, have also been linked with a move to the San Siro.

Behind Seedorf, Allegri has seemingly settled on playing three battle-hardened defensive midfielders.  Yet, Milan are short of such players too. Only Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini and Mathieu Flamini are the three logical choices for these three roles.

Andrea Pirlo is not the same type of player, and perhaps, he can best serve Milan by being used as the substitute for Seedorf. Kevin Prince, in recent games, has been deployed in the Seedorf role on a number of occasions though still considered an alternative for one of three defensive midfield roles.

With Pirlo not fitting the mould of any of the current midfield roles with Allegri’s system and with only Kevin Prince as the one alternative, Milan are seriously lacking depth in arguably the most important part of the field. As it is often said, a team that dominates midfield will dominate the game.

Moreover, like Seedorf, Ambrosini and Gattuso are not getting any older with the latter already starting to show signs of fatigue.

Ideally, a midfielder needs to be brought in January. This may be a more important for Milan than buying a striker considering there is always Ronaldinho, assuming he stays on, and Pato, despite his proneness to injury.

The second area of the pitch that Milan desperately need quality is at full back.

Ignazio Abate has arguably been Milan’s best full back thus far this campaign. But not much can be said about Gianluca Zambrotta’s contribution along with Luca Antonini who for different reasons have both failed to impress.

The fact that Milan have relied on Daniele Bonera to play at full back on a number of occasions speaks volumes about the necessity of the club to reinforce the team in this area.

Portuguese starlet Fabio Coentrao has been linked to the club along with Ajax prodigy, Gregory van der Wiel. Both players would be ideal for Milan, however, the club will face stiff competition in the race to secure either player's signature.

In the centre of defence, Milan are covered. Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva are one of the better defensive pairings around and the likes of Mario Yepes, Daniele Bonera and Sokratis are competent though not great back-ups.

Despite all the talk recently, Milan are likely to make just one signing this January. If the club bought two, this would come as a surprise albeit a welcomed one. From what Andrea Galliani has been saying lately, it appears that Milan’s priority this January is to bring in another striker.

But the club will do well to consider its options. Midfield and full back are two areas the club needs to strengthen sooner rather than later.