2 months ago
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AC Milan completed summer signing number six on Wednesday as they welcomed defender Koni De Winter from Genoa.
Malick Thiaw’s big-money move to Newcastle United meant that Milan were in the market for a new central defender. Before the links even really had time to develop, Igli Tare and co. acted quickly to wrap up De Winter.
Over the weekend, it was reported by Fabrizio Romano and other reliable sources that a €20m operation had been agreed with Genoa, and the Belgian arrived to undergo a medical on Tuesday afternoon.
The signing was made official on Wednesday afternoon as De Winter penned a multi-year deal, but what can fans expect from the latest addition?
Back story
Unlike some signings this summer, Koni De Winter is far from a household name. Of course, those with an interest in Italian football have probably heard of him. Yet, he does not sit among the most recognisable names in the division, let alone Europe. Saying this, though, this is probably a benefit financially.
His career started in Belgium, where he played for City Pirates Antwerp, the area in which he grew up, until 2015. Following this, he played a season in the Lierse SK academy before being picked up by Zulte Waregem.
In the summer of 2018, though, two seasons after joining the Belgian club, he left again. This time to the big leagues, where Juventus saw his talent and implemented him into their youth set-up, where he made an instant impact.
His first year in Italy saw him make 27 appearances, scoring once in the Bianconeri colours for the Under-17s.
In the season that followed, De Winter was called up to the Under-19s, though he only played eight times for the older squad in that season. It was not until the year after, though, that his impact truly started to be felt.
With 23 appearances in the 2021-22 season, the youngster was given the captaincy of the Juventus youth team as he nearly tripled his appearances in the youth squad, leading to him being brought into the Under-23 set-up at the age of just 19.
In the background, the senior coaches were beginning to take note of the talent on their hands. In fact, a year before he was named the captain of the Under-23s, Andrea Pirlo named him in the matchday squad against Barcelona, though he did not make an appearance. Still, this was a testament to the belief in his future from the Turin outfit.
Following on from that, a certain Massimiliano Allegri headed back to his former club, and in the 2021-22 season, De Winter was again listed in the Champions League squad, and Allegri had him on the bench quite regularly.
Then, at the end of November, in an important Champions League game against Chelsea, the Italian opted to give him his first minutes in senior football. A short cameo, playing only 10 minutes, but a renewed sign of faith in the Belgian from his new coach.
Following the game, as Tribal Football (via OneFootball) relayed, the Italian was full of praise for the young defender.
“He is more of a centre-back, though he has good technical quality, so he can also play as a full-back. He played with personality. I’m very happy with his performance.”
Something, perhaps, to take note of, considering what has been reported about Allegri’s plans for Tomori.
His coach was not the only one to make these remarks, though, and the defender was given further praise from veteran defender and Allegrian stalwart Leonardo Bonucci.
“Koni had a good game; he played with personality; we had already seen him in London against Chelsea. He has no fear, and this will be an advantage for his career. He must remain humble now; he has enormous room for improvement, he has a whole career ahead of him.”
A few weeks later, the defender was then given his full debut against Malmö, when he became the youngest debutant in the history of the Old Lady. Though not the most difficult opposition, De Winter kept a clean sheet.
That summer, the Belgian signed an extension that would see him stay in Turin until the summer of 2026. However, he was loaned to Empoli, with the idea of him gaining more experience than what could be offered by Juventus.
In the announcement for the move, Juventus stated, ‘In the season just concluded, Koni had the chance to learn from the best as he often trained with Coach Allegri’s First Team. All of which provided an important opportunity to grow and further enrich his technical ability and overall experience, which next season he will put to use at Empoli,’ high praise, indeed.
That season, the Azzurri finished respectably in mid-table, whilst De Winter managed 22 senior performances, a significant step-up, all things considered. However, it was not deemed enough to stay at Juventus.
Upon returning from Empoli, he was loaned out to Genoa, with the Grifone having an obligation to sign the youngster for just €8 million at the end of the season. That year, he played 29 times, becoming a key part of Alberto Gilardino’s defensive shape.
The former Rossonero regularly complemented the youngster, but after a 1-1 draw against Roma in 2024, the biggest praise, potentially, arrived, as FootItalia relays.
“I’m happy for De Winter. I’m on his case because I believe he has incredible potential. He needs to always maintain high focus, and today he had a superb second half.”
It is clear that the Italian left a big impact on De Winter, as the Belgian referenced speaking to the coach in his first interview for his new club, stating that they had spoken about the move, despite him no longer being the Genoa head coach.
At just 23, De Winter has played more than 167 games, per Transfermarkt statistics, with the majority coming in central defence. Of those, 73 appearances have come in the Champions League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, proving that the experience is relevant.
Strengths and weaknesses
De Winter positions his body to track opponents in his zone, denying them any edge. This keeps the defensive line strong as team-mates close down space.
De Winter spots Leao pulling wide, senses the danger, and moves with him to apply defensive principles outside the box.
De Winter spots Leao pulling wide 👀⚡, senses the danger 🚨, and moves with him 🏃♂️💨to apply defensive principles outside the box 🛡️📦. pic.twitter.com/6gLmNiTmAv
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista) August 14, 2025
He also supports wing-back Djed Spence, boxing Leao into the wide areas to limit the threat and stop further damage from Milan’s counter-attack.
Inside the box, De Winter spots Giroud as Genoa’s prime threat and tracks him closely as Milan delivers a cross into the danger area.
Here, De Winter slides to the right side of Giroud – getting between the ball and the striker – and initiates contact to prevent a quick move and deny an easy tap-in.
With Genoa repeatedly shutting down Milan’s attacks and forcing them to recycle possession, the Genoa backline must constantly adjust. Here, De Winter can be seen orchestrating those adjustments, keeping the line organised and compact.
As Milan switched play from the right wing to the left wing, including a backward pass, De Winter stepped up quickly to block Reijnders’ shot, which could have been fatal for Genoa’s cause.
1v1s are a defender’s staple diet, and KDW doesn’t disappoint as he skilfully navigates the danger posed by Pulisic.
“1v1s are a defender’s staple diet 🍽️, and KDW doesn’t disappoint 💪as he skillfully navigates the danger posed by Pulisic ⚡🇺🇸.” pic.twitter.com/HmPwkdrbHr
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista) August 14, 2025
Interceptions are a key weapon in De Winter’s arsenal, as he reads the game brilliantly and steps in to win the ball.
“Interceptions are a key weapon in De Winter’s arsenal 🎯, as he reads the game brilliantly 🧠and steps in to win the ball 🚫⚽. pic.twitter.com/Xf1Jw35g1y
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista) August 14, 2025
Koni De Winter may not be the fastest, but he has the pace needed to recover and close down spaces. Here, he matches Theo stride for stride to seal a gap created by Milan’s counter-press.
“Koni De Winter may not be the fastest 🐢⚡, but he has the pace needed to recover and close down spaces 🚪🚫. Here, he matches Theo 🏃♂️💨to seal a gap created by Milan’s counter-press 🔄.” pic.twitter.com/R9lTIcfpf5
— Rohit Rajeev (@keralista) August 14, 2025
The biggest weakness that De Winter must work on – and has time to work on at 23 years of age – are his lapses in concentration. Sometimes he is guilty of not watching a man, letting his man go or making a mistake in reading the play. Being in the 25th percentile for errors per game shows this.
Also, FBRef shows that he is not particularly proficient when it comes to blocks (in the 1st percentile versus other centre-backs in the top five leagues), shots blocked (3rd percentile) and passes blocked (4th percentile), implying he is rarely in the line of danger.
Statistical comparison
The most logical thing to do is to pit Koni De Winter against the man that he is, in theory, replacing: Malick Thiaw.
Looking at the percentile metrics provided by the excellent DataMB, we can see that Thiaw comes out on top in passes completed, forward pass %, progressive passes and aerial duels.
However, De Winter ranks way better in possession won, defensive duel % and marginally better in progressive carries.
There was a lot of talk about the other targets that Milan might pursue with €40m in their pockets from Thiaw’s sale, including Giovanni Leoni – now Liverpool-bound – and Pietro Comuzzo.
What we can see is that Comuzzo wins when it comes to passes completed, possession won, defensive duel % and progressive carries.
Leoni is the best in aerial duel % but actually ranks low on plenty of other stats such as passes completed, forward pass %, progressive passes and progressive carries, perhaps because of the nature of the team he was playing in.
De Winter is the winner in forward pass % and progressive passes, so it shows that while he might lag quite a bit behind Thiaw in ball-playing numbers, he is still better than two of Italy’s rising talents.
Last year, Spencer Mossman wrote the following about the Belgian: “De Winter has the 6th highest long pass accuracy of any player in the sample group, but attempts the second fewest per 90.
“This is not a case of ‘small sample size’. His 99 long pass attempts this season is a plenty large sample size to render his 68% long pass accuracy as valid.
“It’s not a Genoa tactical thing either. The long pass attempts per 90 and accuracy for the 5 CBs for the club to play 900 or more minutes this season:
Johan Vásquez: 7.03 (48.4%)
Mattia Bani: 7.07 (52.5%)
Koni De Winter: 3.75 (67.7%)
Radu Drăgușin: 4.37 (49.4%)
Alessandro Vogliacco: 9.23 (49.2%)
“I have no explanation for why De Winter attempted so few long passes this season, but it seems a miss on the part of Genoa’s management to not leverage such an obvious strength more.”
He also picked out something rather interesting, which is that he is almost a carbon copy of Niklas Süle in terms of his numbers and mould.
“Both are larger, natural center halves with the ability to play right back, and their statistical profiles are extremely similar.
“Süle also offers a very good model for how I see De Winter’s career arc and potential going – a centre-back good enough to play at the upper echelon of the sport, but also not one that fully breaks through into the ‘world class’ conversations.”
Conclusion
Considering everything, there is a lot to like about this move. At 23, there is still a rawness to his game, which Allegri will almost definitely iron out. However, there is also a level of maturity and defensive clarity possessed by the Belgian that is above his age.
For the price, it is difficult to really contest this move, and it will also have had the backing of the Italian coach (imaginably), which lessens any worries about Thiaw’s exit. Speaking of that departure, the money brought into the club – in the region of €40m – seems to have already hindered the youngster a tad.
Some view the fact that De Winter arrived for around half of that fee as a negative. Had the Rossoneri paid more, to then overpay for the Belgian, who knows, perhaps the reception would have been better. As football fans, we can be fickle in that regard; often, it comes with the mercato generally.
For €20m, though, the Diavolo have bought a solid Serie A defender at the start of his career effectively. With time under Allegri and versatility to play in a few roles, De Winter offers the club significant value already. In the future, that €20m could well look a steal.
Transfer rating: 7.5/10
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