6 players AC Milan should target this summer

Nicolo Barella

I’m sure that this one may seem a bit far-fetched, and I had a tough time convincing myself that this would be more than Milan making a signing to spite Inter, but upon further review, it actually makes a lot of sense. There is the issue of his large price tag and Milan’s FFP problems, but if they can find a way around the financial issue then this would be a great signing for them.

I mentioned in Isco’s section that Milan is one midfielder short of competing with teams like Atalanta and Roma for the 4th Serie A Champions League spot. Nicolo Barella would fix that issue for the present and the future.

Barella has looked played very well for Cagliari over the last few years in Serie A, which is an especially impressive feat when you consider the level of talent that surrounds him. In fact, it is impressive enough that Inter and Roma are already working to sign him and Juventus was linked with him last summer.

Barella would also be a great fit because his youth would allow the entire midfield to grow together. Barella will turn 23 in a few days, Kessie is 22, and Paqueta is 21.

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They also have a couple of promising young talents at center back in Romagnoli and Caldara, are rumored to have a deal in place for Theo Hernandez, have a 22 year old Davide Calabria at right back, 20 year old Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal, 23 year old Krzysztof Piatek at striker, 25 year olds Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu, and 24 year old Samp Castillejo on the wings.

All of this is a really long way of saying that Milan’s squad is unbelievably young. Adding Barella would give them an even stronger squad in the future, which is really when they have a chance to challenge for the Scudetto.

Juventus is building an incredible squad, but their two best players are both 34 years old and very few of the players who start regularly are under 25. Napoli has similar age issues with Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens both on the wrong side of 30 and quite a few other key players heading towards 30 years old.

Inter doesn’t quite have the same issues as the other two, but Ivan Perisic and Samir Handanovic are both also heading toward the end of their primes in the next few years as well.

Signing Barella not only fixes Milan’s midfield issue now, but it will also make them a true title contender at just the right time. This is absolutely the right signing for Milan and keeping Barella away from Inter is just an added bonus.