Milan director Paolo Maldini admits it would have been easier for the Rossoneri to sign Paulo Dybala instead of Charles De Ketelaere last summer but ‘was he the right player for our project?’
The Rossoneri have been eliminated in the Champions League semi-final by city rivals Inter losing 3-0 on aggregate.
Maldini explained in a post-match interview with Canale 5 that the Rossoneri have not been built for the Champions League yet and continued analysing the Diavoli’s campaign in a different interview with Sky Sport Italia.
Milan’s summer signings have failed to impress this season, including Charles De Ketelaere, their biggest transfer purchase, who moved to San Siro from Club Brugge for €35m.
“De Ketelaere is the example of a player who has to improve,” said Maldini, as quoted by Milannews.
“It would have been easier and less expensive for us to go for a player like Paulo Dybala at the start of the season. But would he have been the right player for our project? Would he have been appropriate and shared by our owners? No.
“We have an idea and want to build a young and talented team. It is risky to sign young players. Sandro [Tonali] struggled in his first season; the same happened with Charles this year. But this is our idea of football, our idea of investment.
“It’s a shared view with the owners. If I wanted a stronger line-up I would have made different choices in the market. We have a project which we are developing together. It takes time, knowing that we are Milan. Who better than me knows about our great history?”
Former Liverpool striker Divock Origi, who joined on a free transfer last summer, has been disappointing this season, only scoring two goals in 35 matches.
“He has everything to be a great striker,” admitted Maldini.
“He has pace, shot and technique, but it’s true that he struggles to leave a mark in front of goal. Honestly, we expect so much from him.
“He joined us as a free agent, but we made an important investment in terms of salary. Seeing him in training, we know what he can give us. He is an experienced player, but he’s not given us what we expected. We signed him to be a backup for Giroud.”
The Rossoneri had reached their first Champions League semi-final since 2006-07 when they went on to lift the trophy with Carlo Ancelotti in charge.
Backup to Giroud…porca miseria 😂😂😂
Kessie left (Maldini didn’t sign him) and he didn’t replace him. Same with Hakan. He got lucky with maignan but that’s literally his only real achievement on the market. Pioli won the league with a largely mediocre side and they rewarded him with a rosa not even fit for top 6. And now he is trying to pin responsibility on duds who don’t play. Bravo, Paolo. bravo.