AC Milan have announced the signing of Marco Sportiello, with the goalkeeper set to join us on July 1 once he officially becomes a free agent.
The 31-year-old will leave Atalanta on a free transfer after his contract expires at the end of the month, having made 137 appearances for the club while also having stints at Fiorentina, Carpi and Frosinone.
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With Ciprian Tatarusanu and Antonio Mirante’s respective contracts running down this summer, Milan needed to make changes and reshuffle things in the goalkeeping department, and we’ve now brought in a solution for Stefano Pioli.
As per the club’s statement, Sportiello will join us on July 1 as a free agent, while he has put pen to paper on a contract until June 2027.
It’s added that he will wear the No.57 jersey, and it’s hoped that he will now provide a reliable and consistent presence behind Mike Maignan, to come in and produce solid performances when necessary.
With his experience and pedigree in Serie A, it will hopefully prove to be a smart addition, but ultimately in a weird way, we’ll hope he plays a limited role as that will mean Maignan has avoided a repeat of his injury problems from last season to be a fixture of the Milan starting XI.
Nevertheless, we need to add quality in all departments this summer to become increasingly competitive again and challenge for silverware, and so while this is a good start, it’s hopefully the first of many new signings in the coming weeks as Pioli needs reinforcements to raise the level within the squad again.
Question marks remain over the new ownership and management structure after Paolo Maldini’s departure, and so time will tell how successful this summer transfer window proves to be for us.