AC Milan have confirmed the permanent signing of Messias Junior after his loan spell with us from Crotone last season.
The 31-year-old scored six goals and provided three assists in 32 appearances for the Rossoneri last year, providing a key contribution in our Serie A title success as well as in the Champions League group stage.
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While he perhaps didn’t show enough to earn a regular starting role, he did make a strong argument in favour of being a key squad player, and as per Milan’s official statement, the club were convinced by what he produced last year as he has been signed permanently and has penned a deal until June 2024.
The right-wing role has been problematic for Milan for several years now, as we seem to have struggled to find a long-term solution that can provide quality and creativity on a consistent basis.
Messias, Alexis Saelemaekers and Samu Castillejo among others were deployed in that position through the course of last season, and it could be argued that in order for us to compete at the top level, we must upgrade in that area of the squad.
As we look to fight across multiple fronts again next season, Messias will have an important role to play as Stefano Pioli will require depth and competition to be able to rotate and rest players.
In turn, this is a sensible and ultimately a low-cost move from Milan, but they’ll hope that Messias can build on last season and step up another level in order to help us achieve our objectives across the board this year.