Heading in to its second consecutive season without European competition, there is no doubt that something has to give for AC Milan as they look to hit the reset button. The Rossoneri finished 10th in the Serie A last season and will have to play a few more rounds in the Coppa Italia. However, they have a roster built for three competitions when they will be limited to two and with only so many minutes to go around, it would only make sense to make moves in order to give the young guns a chance and keep the veterans happy. When AC Milan will be sifting through the list of names to loan out, here are three they should circle:
Gabriel, Goalkeeper
It hasn’t been made official yet but it’s almost guaranteed that the 22-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper will be loaned out this season after spending last year on loan at Carpi. Gabriel set the Serie A record with 23 clean sheets in 39 starts to help lead Carpi to its first league title and a trip to the Serie A. There is a very good chance the loan is extended but even if it isn’t, he will undoubtedly be given a full-time gig somewhere. Milan already has Diego Lopez and Christian Abbiati in place as their top two goalkeepers and although they gave up 50 goals last season, which is a bit high, the keepers are not the problem. The issue is the line in front of them. That means loaning out Gabriel makes plenty of sense as they allow him to continue his development elsewhere in the Serie A and they are dealing from a position where they have ample talent and depth.
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Simone Verdi, Midfielder
Milan is absolutely loaded in the midfield as well and that means they will have to move at least one player to another team. All signs point to Verdi as the most likely to be loaned out. The 22-year-old has spent the last four years co-owned by Milan and Torino, and the two clubs have sent him on loan to Empoli for the last two seasons before the co-ownership was finally resolved in the Rossoneri’s favor. Verdi is already in the latter stages of his development and can’t have his talents wasted sitting on the bench, so look for Milan to move him to a destination where he is likely to start and play big minutes. Then they’ll revisit their commitment to him before the following season.
M’Baye Niang, Striker
The 20-year-old Niang has been a fringe player at Milan and like Gabriel and Verdi, there is just no sense of wasting his talent and hurting his overall development. The young Frenchman nearly stole his place in Milan folklore when he came so close to setting up a Champions League win over Barcelona in 2013 but he has barely played with them since. He has been loaned out in the January transfer window in each of the last two seasons, so it’s pretty clear that they are trying to find him a new home. Niang scored six goals and added a pair of assists with Genoa in the second half last season, so he has made a strong enough impression to attract attention from around Europe. It seems as though the team has enough goal scoring right now – or at least it’s not the team’s biggest weakness – as they tallied 56 markers in 2014-15. Although there is room for improvement, only three teams in the Serie A had more than 62, so it’s not as if AC Milan is that far off in this category. Moving Niang won’t hurt them here.
They should have no problem finding a suitor interested in taking on the young striker. As is the case with Gabriel and Verdi, loaning out a young player like Niang will only help both the player and the club in the long term.
