Stefano Pioli discussed the qualities of new signing Charles De Ketelaere, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s off-pitch impact and Milan’s desire to defend their Scudetto.
The Rossoneri have had a fairly slow summer transfer window, with their only major acquisition being De Ketelaere from Club Brugge. Divock Origi also joined the club on a free transfer and Yacine Adli has finally been integrated into the squad after an extra year in France, but fans are hoping for one or two more signings before the end of the month.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pioli first discussed the summer and his mindset heading into the upcoming season.
“This has been a great summer, we want to repeat it. To win it you need talent, to repeat it you need character.
“This year motivating the squad will be easier, we are stronger than a year ago. We will fight to defend the Scudetto, and in the Champions League to improve.”
The Rossoneri coach spoke highly of De Ketelaere, underlining the Belgian talent’s potential.
“In perspective, in two-three years, he can become a top European player. We met in Milanello on Wednesday morning, together with the staff I showed him videos with some of our playing concepts.
“He was very attentive, you can see from what he said that he is very intelligent, that he understands football.
“And then he has great talent, you can see by the way he touches the ball, he is elegant, beautiful to watch. I asked Origi, his national teammate, about him, and he said, ‘he is half Havertz and half Kaka.’
“He will play a few minutes in Vicenza and a half on Sunday with Pergolettese. There are important expectations but it is right to give him time, I for one told him not to hurry.”
He touched on the off-pitch importance of Ibrahimovic, who is currently sidelined following an operation.
“Zlatan is not available but he is because he is always in contact with everyone. He is a champion who can still make a difference, first he has to be well, at the end of last season he made crazy sacrifices.
“People don’t know it, but he could only train for a quarter of an hour. He has superior technique and intelligence but above all he is still so hungry. From mid-August he will be at Milanello to carry on his path.”
Pioli gave his thoughts about Portuguese forward Rafael Leao, whose contract situation has been a point of discussion this summer.
“I’m not worried at all about contractual matters, you can see that he is happy to be with us. Potentially he is a champion, in terms of strength and the ability to get past his man.
“He has so many goals in his feet, even more than last year. He has grown so much without the ball, now he has to be able to occupy the penalty area better.”
He also spoke highly about new arrival Adli, who is finally arriving from Bordeaux.
“I read that he rightly called himself an atypical midfielder, he is very intelligent, he plays vertically. He is fitting in very well, sometimes he moves far too much but he is learning fast.
“And let’s not forget Brahim Diaz, from whom I expect a lot and with whom I am very satisfied, from him I want more precision in the last pass and more goals.”
Pioli discussed Milan’s objectives in the summer transfer window.
“On paper we are lacking in two roles, a defender and a midfielder. We do not want to replace those who left with lookalikes, also because another Kessié isn’t there.
“We need two characteristics: explosiveness and intelligence.”
He commented on the work of directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara.
“I never feared losing them, I heard from them every day. The change of ownership and other dynamics I am not aware of led to a longer time frame, but I never thought it could end differently.”
Finally, Pioli discussed Milan’s prospective new owner Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird.
“I met him only the day before the announcement, then I never heard from him again. But even with Elliott’s top management it worked the same way, my references are Paolo, Ricky and Gazidis.”