AC Milan face a pivotal summer this year, with sporting director Igli Tare and new coach Massimiliano Allegri set to make crucial decisions.
After a woeful campaign in which we finished eighth in Serie A, thus missing out on European football, suffered defeat in the Coppa Italia final and came up significantly short in the Champions League, it was a season to forget despite our Italian Super Cup triumph.
READ MORE: How Milan could line up under Allegri: Touted formations, personnel ahead of key decisions
Rightly so, changes have already been made with Tare being appointed to oversee the construction of a more competitive squad, while we’ve moved quickly to re-appoint Allegri, and so the pair will hopefully give us a more solid foundation moving forward.
They’ll have little time to settle in though, as there are big decisions waiting for them, namely the futures of Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez, as well as whether or not Rafael Leao will be the face of their plans in the coming years.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, it’s Hernandez who could be the one to move on amid interest from Saudi Arabia, but it remains to be seen if terms can be agreed between the Rossoneri and Al Hilal, as well as on personal terms with the Frenchman, given he may not feel as though such a move is the right one for him at this stage of his career.
Conversely, it’s reported that Milan want to renew Maignan’s contract as he’s set to enter the final 12 months of his current deal, and so it’s hoped that can be resolved quickly to lock down our first-choice shot-stopper for the foreseeable future, and to allow Tare and Allegri to focus on other matters this summer.
It’s also added that Milan intend to put Leao at the centre of their plans moving forward, as Allegri is said to be convinced that the Portuguese forward can be a technical leader for the team given his ability to make the difference.
While that’s a fair assessment based on his talent, it will be on Allegri to unlock the next level for Leao to help him perform at his best on a consistent basis week in and week out, and given others have failed before him, it’s hoped that the 57-year-old can be the one who gets that out of the Milan winger.
There’s no denying that the 25-year-old has the ability to be our leading figure, but he’s got to show that every time he takes to the pitch as we can’t afford to keep putting our faith in him and opting not to cash in and lose other key individuals while that process plays out, as seen with speculation over Tijjani Reijnders in recent weeks.
It seems highly improbable that every decision that the club makes this summer will be popular with supporters, but as long as we see a clear plan, strategy, identity and style of play forming that puts us in a position to win and progress, it’s hoped that these touted decisions prove to be the right ones to form part of that process.