Paolo Maldini insists Milan do not feel ‘penalised’ by their COVID and absentee crisis against Roma, while praising Lille defender Sven Botman.
You can follow all the action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
The Rossoneri go into this game without five players who tested positive for COVID-19, namely Fikayo Tomori, Alessio Romagnoli, Davide Calabria, Samu Castillejo and Ciprian Tatarusanu.
“I think we need to all reach a common solution that everybody agrees on, at least so we can reach the end of the season,” the Milan director told DAZN.
“The only way we can agree is to all sit down and discuss how we deal with absentees. We’ve got only four out of nine defenders available today. Is it a problem? Yes. Do we back out because of that? No. We don’t feel victimised or penalised, that’s just the way it is.”
Milan are in second place behind Inter midway through the season, so will they bring in many January reinforcements, for example Botman from Lille?
“Unfortunately, we can’t compare ourselves to Silvio Berlusconi’s Milan, who could sign the best players in the world. This Milan has to be financially sustainable, so don’t expect massive signings.
“Botman is a very good player, he is owned by Lille and has a contract to 2024. He’s not the only good defender out there, but Simon Kjaer’s injury means the figure we do really need is a defender. Whether we get a defender on loan for six months or purchase one for the next few years is another matter, we need to evaluate the kind of player and his price.”