GdS: Kim Min-jae and Luiz Felipe emerge as options in Milan’s defender hunt – the situation

AC Milan want to sign a new central defender in the January window after having got a striker through the door, and more names have emerged.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, a quick look at the Milan bench in the last league match against Verona shows the urgency. Without Matteo Gabbia and with Koni De Winter in his place, the only centre-back was the young David Odogu, who made his Serie A debut at 3-0 up.

In more complicated situations and matches, more is needed, or at least someone more ready. Thus, sporting director Igli Tare is searching for the ideal player on the right terms: a loan the most likely, and someone with experience.

The names considered

Over the summer, the possibility of signing Kim Min-jae was explored by the Milan directors. Nothing came of it, mostly for financial reasons: the centre-back earns a high salary in Germany.

Has the situation changed in recent months? Kim hasn’t played much (nine Bundesliga games for 525 minutes, five in the Champions League for 161 minutes, two in the German Cup for 94 minutes, and one in the German Super Cup for 10 minutes), despite the Bavarians’ defensive emergency.

Bayern could let him leave, but to make him a viable option for Milan, they would also have to contribute to his salary, perhaps with the promise of a summer purchase. Not a very easy scenario.

The player himself would be keen to try and re-establish himself in Italy, though he is currently sidelined with a muscle issue that kept him out of the final game before the Christmas break.

A much more accessible name is Axel Disasi, currently out of Chelsea’s plans. He’s been discussed recently by the management, but the Frenchman hasn’t played in a while and, more importantly, isn’t familiar with Serie A.

In short, he’d be a risk, especially mid-season, when the integration process would necessarily need to be accelerated. Similarly, Niklas Süle isn’t convincing at the moment in terms of value for money.

A longtime favorite of Igli Tare’s is Luiz Felipe, whom the Albanian manager brought to Lazio in 2017. The Brazilian defender is now at Rayo Vallecano, recovering from a niggling injury. He would be cheap and knows Italian football, but needs to get back into top condition.