Romano: Defender an ‘absolute priority’ for Milan whilst Cardinale continues Endrick ‘obsession’
AC Milan are expected to be busy in January, and Gerry Cardinale’s words today have only fuelled those beliefs.
It was clear to everyone that Milan ended the summer unsatisfied with the squad, especially after the last-minute pursuit of Goncalo Inacio. So, reports emerging about January targets in the days after were not a shock. In fact, they were a welcome statement of intent from the club early on.
Since then, there have been several links to a number of interesting players and with two months to go until January, there will be several more, especially after Cardinale’s statements today. However, there have been a few repeated names that haven’t disappeared, with Inacio’s being one of them.
In the attack, the name of a Brazilian starlet has been thrown around constantly and it seems that it won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Cardinale pushing for January additions
Speaking on his YouTube channel tonight at length, Fabrizio Romano looked at a few names linked with the Rossoneri, and MilanNews have relayed his words.
“I’d also add that Cardinale had some very important words about the transfer market, because over the past few months, we’ve often said that Milan did a lot of good things during the summer transfer window, but lacked others. So, Milan needs to strengthen their squad.
“They finished the summer transfer window by looking for central defenders, but then failed to sign him, and in the end, Tomori was reinstated.
“Milan certainly intends to make a move in January. Cardinale confirmed this: ‘ We’ll have to be aggressive in the January transfer window. In the summer, I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted, so I’ll have to strengthen the team, I’ll have to strengthen the bench.’
“It’s clear that when he talks about the bench, he’s talking about rotation because Milan are involved in multiple competitions and need more depth in the squad. This was also evident against Bologna when the team looked very tired in the second half; they’re clearly feeling the strain of playing so many games in a short time.
“Milan will be active in the winter transfer window, so much so that they’ve already started making calls. The central defender is absolutely a priority , so they’ll sign a new defensive reinforcement and have already started contacting him. It’s clear that there are some names that AC Milan already know very well by heart.
“I’ll name one: Gonçalo Inacio is a player Amorim mentioned at the start of last summer’s transfer window. He’s a player AC Milan has been working on, so he’s a name that should always be kept among their favorites. He’s not the only one; AC Milan is also evaluating others.
“I believe that the central defender is one of the things AC Milan wants to do in January, but not the only one, because there’s the possibility of seeing something more. Obviously, this depends on the opportunities and the right names.
“Cardinale’s idea remains to make some additions, but he wants to do it sensibly and with a clear approach. He doesn’t want to sign someone just for the sake of signing them. AC Milan wants to add the right pieces who can be useful today, but also for the future.
“Many of you continue to ask us about the AC Milan striker, because it’s clear that at the moment, even in terms of alternatives, Camarda hasn’t found much space so far and when he did find one he wasn’t seen, so it’s clear that many of you are asking us about the striker.
“I’ll tell you one thing about Endrick: the Brazilian is an absolute obsession of Cardinale; he’s an absolute obsession of AC Milan. In the sense that AC Milan tried to sign him last summer, but found the doors closed.
“Real Madrid didn’t want to release him and that remains Mourinho’s idea even now. The Portuguese continues to repeat in the press and elsewhere: ‘I don’t want Endrick to go, Endrick will be successful here at Real Madrid, we’re counting on Endrick.’
“So Real Madrid, through José Mourinho, is sending signals of absolute permanence. It’s clear that what AC Milan did in the summer was to position themselves; that is, AC Milan knew in August that they couldn’t sign Endrick because Real Madrid had already closed the doors, but they still chose to show their appreciation and to position themselves if a door were to open, whether in January or next summer.
“Right now, Real Madrid have no intention of releasing him. However, Milan will be there when and if a door opens. He won’t be the only one, because Endrick is liked by Roma, Aston Villa and there are also many other teams following him, but this is the scenario today.”
