GdS: Gila, Modric and hopefully Jashari – Tare driven by mercato intuitions

Massimiliano Allegri is getting a lot of praise for the work he has done at AC Milan, but Igli Tare might be the unsung hero.

La Gazzetta dello Sport write about how Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma are getting a lot of flowers, as are Chivu’s Inter and Fabio Grosso’s Sassuolo, in terms of surpassing expectations. The team that are in top spot, however, are Milan, but how did they get there?

The last and the first

Igli Tare was the first piece of the summer rebuild that the Milan ownership put in place, as the sporting director entrusted with starting a new project. His last job had been with Lazio, in the same role, and he gave them a parting gift: Mario Gila.

In a Lazio side currently struggling under Maurizio Sarri after a summer of chaos, Gila is an ‘insurmountable bulwark’, a central defender everyone would want these days. The Spaniard would be the ideal reinforcement for Milan, as it goes.

Luka Modric was Tare’s first signing for Milan, but Gila was the last he gave to Lazio, demonstrating formidable flexibility in his selection. The Albanian was clever in realising that Modric, at 40, still had so much to give. Whereas with Gila, he took a punt on a youngster but he saw the talent.

Images: Fabrizio Romano + Marco Rossi/Getty Images

That’s why Tare managed to snatch him from Real Madrid, paying just €6m and agreeing to give the Spanish club a percentage of the resale price. Two signings at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of what they represent, though both at a very low cost.

Milan has climbed to the top of the table while still having to do without their second-most expensive signing, Ardon Jashari, and with only brief glimpses of the most expensive signing, Christopher Nkunku. The pair cost over €70m, combined.

Jashari was a midfielder Tare wanted at all costs, battling those who tried in vain to dissuade him, to the point of paying nearly €40m. It is a huge sum for someone who isn’t a striker, traditionally the most expensive position in the shop window.

A fractured fibula and a long lay-off were not the ideal start. The latest news is encouraging, however: the Swiss should be back at Allegri’s disposal in early November. What if, as already demonstrated with Modric and Gila, Tare’s instincts prove themselves once again?