AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca has hinted that the club are unlikely to be busy in the January transfer window to strengthen his squad.
It’s been somewhat of an underwhelming start to life at the helm for the Portuguese tactician, with the Rossoneri sitting in seventh place in the Serie A table after 11 games, while we’re in 20th place in the Champions League standings.
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Inconsistency has been a major problem, as evidenced by our win at Real Madrid being followed by a draw at Cagliari prior to the international break, and so there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure we emerge as a genuine contender between now and the end of the season.
Having a strong squad will of course be a major positive, and barring our long-term absentees, Milan are now seemingly in good shape from a fitness perspective as we approach a crucial period in the campaign.
That said, there is always the argument and possibility of strengthening where possible in the January transfer window, but it doesn’t sound as though Fonseca or the Milan hierarchy are thinking too much about reinforcements in the New Year.
Following on from comments made by Technical Director Geoffrey Moncada this week who noted their plans are more so looking towards next summer, the Milan boss has suggested that his focus is on internal solutions rather than external.
“We already have internal solutions, [Ismael] Bennacer won’t have much time left [before he returns], he can play the role of [Youssouf] Fofana,” he told the media at his pre-Juventus press conference, as per Antonio Vitiello. “[Ruben] Loftus-Cheek can also be a solution, the same as [Yunus] Musah. Deputy Theo [Hernandez]? [Davide] Bartesaghi can help the team in that position. The January market in Italy is not easy, because the players have to adapt quickly.”
Naturally, there is plenty of time for the situation to change between now and the end of December, but the comments above would suggest that we shouldn’t expect too much activity at the mid-point in the season.
That is arguably the sensible strategy too as we invested a lot in the squad in the summer, and it’s down to Fonseca to get more out of the players at his disposal to get to the level expected to prove that he’s capable of meeting the demands and expectations of the job before further investment is approved.
