AC Milan’s English quartet are all facing the exit door thanks to the arrival of Max Allegri.
The six-time Serie A winner returns to San Siro, replacing Sergio Conceicao who lasted just five months on the job.
Serial winner Allegri is back and ready to make some ruthless changesGetty Walker is one of the Englishmen at risk from the coaching changeGettyAnd that could spell bad news for Kyle Walker, Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham.
Milan have faced upheaval in the dugout and on the board throughout the season, leading to major fan protests at their final game of the season.
Starting the campaign under headbutt fanatic Paulo Fonseca, he was replaced in January by fellow Portuguese Conceicao who got off to a flyer, winning the Italian Supercoppa.
Yet the team collapsed to eighth-place Serie A finish and lost the Coppa Italia final, meaning they missed out on European football next season while rivals Inter are in the Champions League final.
All of this could see their English quartet in trouble, with Allegri expected to perform a major shake-up.
Leading Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport claims the two-time Champions League finalist has a ‘clear idea’ of how he wants to play next season, and that involves switching to his trusted back four.
Milan finished the season with a back three under Conceicao which saw Manchester City loanee Walker relegated to the bench.
Gazzetta claims that Walker’s ‘stock has fallen’ and ‘he’s lost his way’ but Pep Guardiola won’t welcome him back to the Etihad.
They also add that Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic constitute Allegri’s ideal centre back pairing, meaning one or both of Tomori and Malick Thiaw will be sold, with the Englishman of interest to Tottenham.
Elsewhere, Loftus-Cheek has the skillset to replicate the Sami Khedria role from Allegri’s all-conquering Juventus team, but he’s coming off a ‘bad season full of injuries and stoppages’ and must prove his physical worth to the new coach.
Tomori is a fan favourite but could be used to raise funds after dropping down the orderGetty Loftus-Cheek has to make up for lost time if he’s to prove his worth to AllegriGettyThe former Chelsea midfielder had his worst season in professional football, featuring just 28 times and recording a single assist, but the same can’t be said for Abraham, Milan’s most used Englishman.
The 11-time England international starred under both Fonseca and Conceicao, making 44 appearances and scoring ten goals, including a Supercup winning strike against Inter.
Yet his future isn’t just dependent on Milan, parent club Roma are in the same situation with Alexis Saelemaekers on loan from Milan, and a permanent swap deal must now be discussed.
That may be difficult to stomach for Abraham, who responded to Roma fans who booed him during the season.
“The boos from the Roma fans hurt me, because everyone knows what Roma meant to me,” he said.
“I didn’t celebrate when I scored. But that’s okay, that’s football.”
If Abraham re-signs he’ll have to play second fiddle to GimenezGetty Abraham has been heavily relied upon, but doesn’t have a contract next seasonEither way, January signing Santiago Gimenez will be prioritised due to a hefty transfer fee and salary, while Allegri may want more of an all-round number nine to accompany him, following his huge successes with Mario Mandzukic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic also plays his part too, having been sidelined after an embarrassing 12 months as an executive.
The iconic Swede became Milan’s de-facto sporting director, but was heavily criticised for his coaching appointments and two disastrous transfer windows.
Albanian Igli Tare has now been installed as Milan’s full-time sporting director, and with Allegri arriving just 48 hours after his appointment it’s clear the two will work in tandem to perfect his squad for the new season.
So we’ll have to wait and see how English the final result is.
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