Rating AC Milan’s Summer Window PART 1: Players Out

It’s been a week since the summer transfer window closed. AC Milan had a massive shake up from the management to the squad. Here is a summary of all the players out the door and how we rate the moves:

Ciprian Tatarusanu (Abha) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (retired) left the club as their contracts expired.

Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea FC), Sergino Dest (Barcelona) and Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg) returned to their parent clubs as their respective loans ended.

Marco Nasti (Loan - Bari), Marco Brescianini (Loan - Frosinone), Gabriele Bellodi (Permanent - Olbia), Antonio Mionic (Permanent - SK Lisen) and Andreas Jungdal (Permanent - Cremonese) are the youth players out on loan or having departed for good.

Here are our ratings for the first team transfers out:

Matteo Gabbia - Villarreal - Dry Loan

Gabbia leaving made more sense for him than the club. Milan are now one defender short but Gabbia needed that step up otherwise would be a career fourth choice player. He has a big opportunity to establish himself and earn a move away as it is unlikely he breaks into a starting role with the Rossoneri. Rating: C

Daniel Maldini - Empoli - Loan with option to buy and buyback clause

An odd move for him again, Empoli are battling relegation and will not just hand him playing time. I am not sure this move made sense for either Maldini or Empoli as they needed a different profile and he needed a better opportunity. Let’s hope he carves out some space for himself and gets to establish himself as a top talent. Bear in mind, he was a Serie A title and he scored against both AC Milan and Inter Milan while with Spezia last season. Rating: F

Ante Rebic - Besiktas - Sale for 500k euros with bonuses up to 1.5 million

A bittersweet transfer. Rebic was undoubtedly my favourite player between 2019 and 2021 especially when he was hammering Juventus game after game. He then got injured and never really bounced back. His relationship fractured with Pioli and he barely contributed in the past two seasons. Happy to have him move on but it’s a shame his stock plummeted. Rating: D

Marko Lazetic - Fortuna Sittard - Dry Loan

Lazetic will play in the top flight in the Netherlands. It will be key to see something from him this season otherwise he will surely leave the club. Pioli has not put faith in him at all off the bench while at the club and he does need to show some output as he has barely scored over the past two years. Rating: C

Devis Vasquez - Sheffield Wednesday - Loan

Vasquez was the baffling winter signing last year and leaves on loan after just 6 months as Pioli showed more faith in Tatarusanu than him. He made a big impact on his debut for the Championship side saving a penalty. That is his level and it would be great for him to deliver a solid season and secure a permanent move. Rating: B

Lorenzo Colombo - AC Monza - Dry Loan

This might be one of my favourite moves of the summer as I have faith in Colombo. His size and his wild shot make him a good candidate to be a hold up play striker. He is a classic no. 9 and Monza is an exciting project to be a part of. His is not far away from Milan, he is playing in Serie A, Palladino is a good coach and Galliani has faith in him. I think this can be a big moment for his emergence. Rating: A+

Sandro Tonali - Newcastle United - Sale for 70 million euros

As a fan, Tonali’s sale was heartbreaking. He was a bandiera and knowing that he did no want to go hurts. On the flip side, seeing how that money was reinvested the move makes sense for both parties. Tonali gets to experience the Premier League and earns a tonne more money while Milan add depth that has been lacking for a decade. It was nice to see the club cash in on an asset for the first time in recent memory. Rating: A

Charles de Ketelaere - Atalanta - 3 million euro loan with option for 23 million plus 4 million euros in bonuses and resale clause

CDK is already a fan favourite in Bergamo with a debut goal and then an assist in just three games while coming off the bench. The pressure of the San Siro was too much for the Belgian. He seems to be growing already under Gasperini as he has more confidence. Let’s hope he keeps scoring and Atalanta trigger his big option at the end of the season. Rating: B

Junior Messias - Genoa - 1.5 million euro loan with obligation to buy for 1.5 million euros.

I always liked Messias and thought he got more hate than he deserved. He story was an inspiring one but moreover his output was not bad with 12 goals and 5 assists in two seasons. He has an opportunity to help Genoa fight to stay up and build himself to be an experienced starter there. I am thankful for his service especially in the title winning year. Rating: B

Alexis Saelemaekers - Bologna - 1 million loan with option for 12 million euros

This is an overdue move. Saelemaekers was just not Milan quality but seemed to have a good relationship with the technical directors. He underwhelmed after his permanent purchase and was the reason our right side of the attack was pretty much a non-factor. The loan to Bologna is again underwhelming as there could have been suitors to buy him once and for all. Rating: C

Divock Origi - Nottingham Forest - Loan with an option for 5 million euros

This is an underwhelming move but obviously it was deadline day. Origi’s wages will be off the books but he would really have to do a job this season for Forest to take up the option. We spent 4 million euros net for 2 goals in a blowout win and a blowout loss. Rating: D

Fode Ballo-Toure - Fulham FC - Dry loan

A tough spell for him at Milan as it is impossible to break into the squad with Theo Hernandez above you. Ballo-Toure barely played but always had a smile and did score a winner last season. The loan makes sense but again it would’ve been ideal to sell him given he isn’t in the plans. Rating: D

OVERALL RATING

This summer saw our first big sale in a while. The summer saw us maintain our wage bill while also getting stronger. The summer sweep up took care of lots of deadweight in the squad to open up spots for proper depth. This is a really good summer window as far as players out goes. There are some misses such as the numerous loans without obligations but it is hard to offload players with a tumbling stock. Rating: A-