AC Milan - Probable Formation and Potential Transfer Targets for the season 2013-14.

I am a Rossoneri fan since many years and this is my first article for any website; hope you all will like it.

The Most Suitable formation for AC Milan – While the clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are using the 4-2-3-1 formation with great success, many fans must be wondering why AC Milan are planning to use the 4-3-1-2 formation in the upcoming season. Any team playing with wingers will be able to take advantage of this static formation. If Milan decides to play with 4-2-3-1 they will be able to play more attractive, creative and fast paced football with the use of wingers on both sides.
Now let’s see AC Milan’s potential transfer targets for this season.

For the Defence, in goal Christian Abbiati is doing well but the 2nd choice Gk Marco Amelia is shaky and unreliable so he needs to be shown the door. For 2nd choice Gk Milan should go for Lazio’s Federico Marchetti or Pescara’s Mattia Perin or Palermo’s Emiliano Viviano as a direct replacement for Abbiati in future. For CB, Renato Civelli of OGC Nice who as a Free agent will be a good bench player as he is strong, tall and good in the air, another name for CB is Lyon’s Dejan Lovren who is also a decent defender. There is also a promising Italian youngster Angelo Ogbonna of Torino, who might be on his way to Juventus. Milan must not go for Cagliari’s Davide Astori who had a really bad season, as few reports suggest if Milan don’t get Ogbonna they might go for Astori. There are Valencia’s much sought after defenders Jeremy Mathieu and Adil Rami who may be on their way to Barcelona and Arsenal respectively, so it will be hard for Milan to attract them. Milan may also be plotting a move for the in-demand Udinese defender Mehdi Benatia, who will offer much needed stability to our defence.

As far as Midfield is concerned Milan are being linked with Genoa’s Juraj Kucka, Samprodia’s Andrea Poli and Cagliari’s Radja Nainggolan. The Belgian Midfielder seems to be the best bet between them, as he can play almost anywhere in Midfield. Another midfielder who had great season for his team is Toulouse’s Etienne Capoue who can also play as CB. Another midfield option is PSV’s Kevin Strootman, who might be on his way to Manchester United and talking about PSV their promising youngster Adam Maher is brilliant, if possible Milan should also give a try for him. Rumours are also about Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alacantra but I highly doubt Barcelona will ever want to sell such super talented players. There is also CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda who is touted as a possible replacement for Kevin Prince Boateng. Honda can play as CAM or as a winger. He is not only a great player but will also be very helpful in expanding the Club’s popularity in East Asia. Overall Honda would be an ideal signing for Milan. Reports suggest that Milan wants PSG’s under firing Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore on loan as this could turn out to be a great deal for Milan. Lazio’s Brazilian midfielder Hernanes is a long-time target of Milan but he has already insisted that he is unwilling to leave Lazio anytime soon. Reportedly Milan is also interested in Bologna’s Alessandro Diamanti but I think Milan should have got him last year when he performed very well for Italy in Euro 2012 now Bologna is demanding too much money for him. There are also rumours about Montpellier’s Moroccan playmaker Younes Belhanda but Milan will face a stiff competition for his signature and he may cost more than 12 Million.

Now about the Attacking options, it’s all depends on which formation They will be playing, if They go for 4-3-1-2 then they just have to add few strikers considering Bojan has gone back to Barcelona and Robinho on his way to Santos. PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi’s whose name is being linked with AC Milan after having a disappointing season for Ligue 1 Champions, may want to come back to Calcio. I strongly think they should get back their youth product Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Saint-Étienne, whom Milan sold for around 2 Million to Saint-Étienne after running out of patience, thinking he may never be able to get into the first team; he can play on both wings as well as a CF. Milan are said to be interested in Torino’s right winger Alessio Cerci and they should also try for Real Sociedad’s in form Left winger Antoine Griezmann, reportedly El Shaarawy is on the Man City radar as they are ready to launch a mega bid for him, Milan may entertain big money offers for him, as since January the player has been average and they might fear that he may end up being another Pato. If Milan sells El Shaarawy then it would be a huge blow for all the Milan fans. If Milan decides to play with 4-3-1-2 then they won’t need wingers and will only require Central Midfielders. If Milan tries to experiment with 4-2-3-1 or carry on playing with 4-3-3 then they will require genuine wingers which Milan currently have only in term of El Shaarawy. If Man City wants to get rid of Carlos Tevez then they can try for him. Players they should keep an eye for attacking options are Dynamo Kiev duo Andriy Yarmolenko and Brown Ideye along with PSV duo Dries Mertens and Jeremain Lens.

Options are limited for the Rossoneri but they should make the most of it because of the economic problems Milan are facing, they cannot afford to do what clubs like Man City, Chelsea, PSG, AS Monaco, Real Madrid and Barcelona have been doing, and that’s why the job of Galliani has become even more difficult. They should try to get their transfer targets by offering some of their fringe players to clubs who might be interested in them. They should also try to reduce the current squad size to 22 or 23, for cutting down the needless expenses as they are not giving many opportunities to their second string players anyway and It is advisable to have a small squad of quality players than having a large squad consisting many mediocre players.

Not being able to win any silverware for the last 2 seasons is truly disappointing. Rossoneri are also not putting any challenge in CL. By merely participating in CL will not make their fans happy. AC Milan must show everyone that they are here to win not only Serie A but also CL and for that Milan either have to splash the huge cash or have to operate very smartly in the transfer market, the road ahead will be very difficult as Juventus is constantly improving and Inter have hired a manager whose previous team was ahead of Milan in Serie A last season. After all the drama whether to continue with Allegri or not and now that Milan have decided to continue with him, they must completely back him.

As a Milan fan I hope for the best and FORZA MILAN.

Players who may join Milan this Season – Perin, Civelli, Benatia, Capoue, Honda, Nainggolan, Cerci, Aubameyang, Tevez.

Players who may leave Milan this Season – Amelia, Taiwo, Villa, Antonini, Yepes, Zaccardo, Traore, Ambrosini, Emanuelson, Nocerino, Boateng, Robinho.

Hence the starting line-up for Milan in next season should be 4-2-3-1 with Abbiati in goal. Abate as RB, Benatia and Mexes as CB, De Sciglio as LB. Montolivo and De Jong as DM. El Shaarawy as Left winger, Honda as CAM and Cerci as Right winger. Balotelli to play as lone CF. Everyone will be playing at their suitable position and that’s why I think 4-2-3-1 will be the best formation for Milan.