‘There’s no money to invest’ – Vitiello praises Allegri’s work given wasted summer window

AC Milan are hoping to complete a couple of signings in January, but they do not intend to pay a transfer fee up front.

Milan have had a positive start to their 2025-26 campaign in the league, though their lack of depth has arguably been exposed in the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana. Still, a Scudetto push remains a possibility given that the Rossoneri are only one point off top, but some help is needed.

The first player through the door to bolster Massimiliano Allegri’s squad is German striker Niclas Füllkrug, who will join on loan with an option to buy. It is a classic low-cost winter deal given his buy-out is only worth €5m, making him a very affordable option if he does well in these six months.

Wasted summer money

Aside from Füllkrug, there are doubts about what Milan have the margins to do. Antonio Vitiello published his weekly column for MilanNews and he spoke about the miracle that Allegri is working given the circumstances, and how the winter window should pan out.

“New signing Niclas Fullkrug landed at Malpensa Airport last night [Monday]. We were all hoping for something better, but from what we’re hearing from Milan, there’s no money to invest in January. Unfortunately, this is the situation,” he said.

“It’s a shame that so many resources were wasted in the summer, because so far the only convincing signings have been Rabiot and Modric.

“So, Fullkrug is on loan with an option until June, a stopgap to try to give Max Allegri a few extra resources in a department with numerous issues, from Nkunku to Gimenez, not to mention the constant injury problems of Leao and Pulisic (who, incredibly, have played very little together).

Image: Fabrizio Romano

“From a technical standpoint, he could be the right fit, as he’s a classic penalty box striker. However, if we look at it from a medical perspective, the player has been frequently injured, and signing him represents a huge risk.

“Now, Milan are looking to acquire a versatile defender, capable of playing both on the right and in the center. Therefore, several loan options are being considered. Again, no major investments are being made. The only change could be if someone were to leave permanently.

“For this reason, Milan hoped to sell Gimenez in January, but the Mexican’s move has derailed the club’s plans. Max Allegri has done a tremendous job so far. He’s only one point off first place in the league, and he deserved more convincing support in the transfer market.

“They’ll need to maximise the squad’s resources and push beyond their limits to dream of competing with Inter and Napoli all the way to the end. Otherwise, it will be another season of regrets, further confirming that financial results always precede sporting results.”