AC Milan have a new man in the dugout this season in Paulo Fonseca, who has recently just left Lille in Ligue 1 but has also managed at Roma between 2019-2021. The Portuguese manager led the Italian side to a 5th place finish in his first season before a more disappointing 7th place the following year. but has since achieved 5th and 4th with Lille, securing them Champions League football for the upcoming year.
Milan had to settle for a 2nd placed finish in 2023/24 which in many cases would be seen as some success, however, they were some way off the title winners and arch rivals Inter. Milan will be looking to close that gap and have a real push at the title this season after being 19 points away last time out. Keeping hold of many players from last season while also making some good additions will only aid this title push but with other teams also looking to strengthen around them it may not be a two-horse race for the title.
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Season Recap
It hurt many at Milan to see their in-city rivals win the league but not only this, Inter won it by such a margin over their enemies, while confirming the title after a 2-1 victory over Milan. Many knew for a long time that it would take something spectacular for Inter to not win the league, but for them to seal it in front of their biggest rivals rubbed salt into the wounds and meant a great deal to both sides.
The story repeated itself in the Champions League, Milan had an underwhelming group stage where they finished 3rd, meaning Europa League football for the rest of the campaign. In Europe's second-tier competition, they were knocked out by fellow Italians Roma in the quarter-finals, losing 3-1 on aggregate. It was after this defeat many saw the end coming for Stefano Pioli, his Scudetto win in 2022, which was Milan's first league title since 2011, and Pioli's first ever trophy wasn't enough to keep him in charge at the San Siro.
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The transfer window so far
Milan have so far spent around €36 million on left back Alex Jimenez from Real Madrid, RB Leipzig centre back Strahinja Pavlovic, and making his second return to Italy, Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard has previously had two stints with Juventus, once on a permanent deal in 2014 until 2016, then a second time on loan from 2020-2022.
They have also agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur, which has seen Brazilian full back Emeerson Royal complete a move for a fee in the region of €15 million. They are also looking to bolster their midfield ranks this summer and have reportedly been looking at Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana but his asking price is believed to be too much for the Italians. Instead, they are looking towards Manu Koné of Borussia Monchengladbach, who is deemed to be a suitable alternative at a much more reasonable price.
In terms of outgoings for Milan, they have sold attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere to Atalanta for a of fee around €22 million, which is a fair amount lower than the €36 million they spent on the Belgian playmaker back in 2022.
They have also allowed veteran striker Olivier Giroud to leave for a free transfer at the expiry of his contract, he has joined LAFC in the MLS. The Frenchman scored fifteen and assisted eight in the league last season, which is impressive for a bench player who is 37. This adds to the pressure on Morata who will have to come in and equal that tally if not better it if they are to push on this season.
Something important to note is Milan have been able to keep hold of key players such as Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan, as well as replacing some squad players who have left. If they can keep them all together and add one or two more, including a midfielder, they will enter the season in a stronger position than they ended last campaign.
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Strongest XI
When you add in the summer signings which Milan have so far completed, their strongest XI would look something like this:
Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez; Tijjani Reijnders, Yunus Musah, Rafael Leao, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic; Alvaro Morata.
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Manager & tactics
Paulo Fonseca is a coach who prefers to use a ‘positional’ style of play, where players maintain specific positions or rotate them as the game progresses. Despite this dynamic approach, Fonseca consistently utilizes a 4-2-3-1 formation as the foundation of his strategy. This would suit the set-up already in place at Milan nicely in terms of personnel, with the players being used to this set-up from last season.
A key factor in Milan's 2021/22 Scudetto victory was their performance off the ball. Adopting a high, aggressive press which was designed to suffocate the opposition, allowing them to regain possession as quickly as possible.
Fonseca, on the other hand, doesn't employ as high a press as Pioli. Instead, his players typically begin their press slightly deeper, often pushing up in response to specific pressing triggers. When out of possession, Fonseca's teams usually organize themselves in a compact 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation.
The idea is to be centrally compact and force the opposition into wide areas. During his time at Roma, they would engage in a fierce counter-press whenever they lost the ball in areas higher up the pitch. This has been evident during his early days in Milan during their preseason tour of the United States.
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Who to watch out for?
The 25-year-old is entering his 5th season with Milan this campaign after his move from Lille in 2019. Leao is a player who gets fans off their seats and excites anyone who watches him with his quick feet, explosive speed while dribbling and his eye for goal.
There have again been links this summer of a move away from the San Siro after the Portuguese star scored nine and assisted 10 last season, along with 15 and 10 the season before. His numbers have been impressive for a while now and it has many clubs around Europe interested, most notably Chelsea, but after the signing of Pedro Neto Leao looks set to remain in Italy for now.
The wide man is still an AC Milan player however, and Fonseca will be looking to get the best out of one of his star players. He has only been able to feature in one pre-season game so far due to competing in the European Championships this summer, but there is no doubt his manager will want him to get up to speed quickly for their opening day game against Torino next weekend.
Someone else who Fonseca has seen very little of is France left back Theo Hernandez, who was also playing for his national team this summer. Hernandez moved to Milan in the same summer as Leao, leaving Real Madrid after failing to stake a starting spot, since then he has been regarded as one of the best full backs in the world.
His ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch is one of the reasons he is highly rated by many in world football, and for that reason, he is another player who has been linked with a move away. Both Hernandez and Leao play on the left-hand side and have a very good relationship when playing together, this will be something Fonseca will have to continue to work on if he is to be a success this season. There has been many occasions of Hernandez overlapping Leao allowing the winger space to cut in onto his right foot and score.
Hernandez can also play several positions, he can play centre back, left back and left midfield all with ease. So if his manager is ever thinking about changing things up formation-wise he is someone who can slot into a back three or be used at wingback.
His contract does run down in two years, so it may be in their best interests to try and tie him down to a longer deal for the future.
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Season expectations
For many at Milan, the Scudetto is the only way to have a successful season, especially after their arch-rivals won it the previous season. First and foremost, qualifying for the Champions League is the minimum to be achieved, but remembering it is Fonseca's first season in charge it may take a little longer than usual for him to implement his plans. He has also been without a fair amount of his stronger players in pre-season due to international competitions this summer, so patience will be needed in the early part of the season no doubt.
Looking at the Champions League, they will be hoping to reach the knockout phase this season after suffering a group stage exit last time out and having to settle for Europa League football. With the new format coming in for the upcoming season in Europe, Milan will have to finish in the top eight to qualify automatically for the round of sixteen, finishing between 9th and 24th place will result in competing in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to qualify. There will be no drop down to the Europa League if eliminated this time around, so qualifying is also a must for Milan.
There are reasons to be optimistic however, a new manager with bright ideas is in place and has had the whole of pre-season to get his philosophy across to the group he's been able to work with. Along with that, they have added quality to the team without losing any of their key players from last season. If Inter have a season like the last it may be difficult to catch them but a drop off this campaign could allow Milan to win the Scudetto for the second time in four years, meaning it's their 20th league title, matching their rivals Inter.
