CorSport: Only nine remain – Milan conduct huge squad overhaul despite Furlani’s words

The summer mercato ended on Monday night, and now the dust is beginning to settle the magnitude of AC Milan’s overhaul is becoming clearer.

While we wait to see all the new signings for Massimiliano Allegri’s squad in action, Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) reports that the one certainly is that there has been a ‘real revolution’ in the Rossoneri ranks.

Despite what CEO Giorgio Furlani declared at the beginning of the summer, when he denied the possibility of a massive overhaul, there have been a huge amount of operations complete to turn over a new lead.

Nine men left

If you rewind the tape one year and compare squads from then and today, it emerges that only nine players remain: Mike Maignan, Lorenzo Torriani, Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic, Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and Youssouf Fofana.

Everything and everyone else has changed. It is a metamorphosis that was partially initiated during the January transfer window and which has been fully accomplished in recent months with a total of 40 transactions, an unprecedented number for Milan.

Ten players have been bought, 27 have left and three have returned from loans. With this renewed squad, including the coach Allegri, the Rossoneri will go in search of the Champions League that eluded them last year.

At what cost?

In total, Milan spent approximately €158m excluding any bonuses, which will have a total impact on the accounts of approximately €90m.

Among the players brought to Allegri’s court are also the two most expensive of the entire Serie A summer: the Frenchman Christopher Nkunku cost €37m, while the Swiss midfielder Ardon Jashari was a €34m addition.

From permanent sales, not counting bonuses or any options/obligations to buy, the Diavolo earned a guaranteed €105m, for a balance sheet impact of approximately €166m.

Thus, the revolution – one that had been so widely dismissed as a possibility by the club’s management at the start of the transfer window – certainly ended up taking place.