5 players AC Milan's new owners could sign in the summer
Since AC Milan won their 18th Serie A title in 2011, they have been through some very tough times. Known for teams packed with household names for over 20 years, the Rossoneri have fallen far from their perch and can only be described as a sleeping giant these days.
Some of the best times in their history came under the stewardship of controversial former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who bought the club in the 1980s. Milan became a powerhouse; the last team to win back-to-back European Cups, in 1989 and 1990. Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio Capello and Carlo Ancelotti were particularly successful in the managerial hotseat.
The elite became synonymous with Milan. Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Andriy Shevchenko were just three of a plethora to earn legendary status at the club. While the likes of Kaka, David Beckham and Ronaldinho all donned the famous red and black in the Berlusconi era.
But when the core of that title-winning side, notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Andrea Pirlo, departed, the wheels soon came off. Milan haven’t played in the Champions League since 2014, and the lack of money and success saw fans turn on the board, who sold the club to a Chinese consortium in a €740million deal recently.
The takeover has bred hope of a Milan revival, with a core of talented young players, notably Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alessio Romagnoli, at the club and heavy investment expected. Here are five big-name players the owners could look to sign this summer.
#1 Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais)
French striker Lacazette is one of the hottest properties in Europe, due to his goalscoring exploits at Lyon over the last couple of seasons. The 25-year-old has scored 22 goals in 26 Ligue 1 games this term and four in six in the Europa League, a competition he still hopes to win with Lyon come May.
He is one of those players constantly linked with a move, and having previously stressed his commitment to his current employers, there are signs that he is preparing to take the next step in his career. Strangely, though, he still struggles to make an impact in Didier Deschamps’s France squad, despite Karim Benzema’s continued omission.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are said to be monitoring his situation at Lyon, and he would cost in excess of £40million, but Milan could really make a statement by challenging the Premier League riches and luring him to the San Siro.