Speculation suggests that Milan are in the market for a new right-back this summer, and with Davide Calabria and Andrea Conti already in the squad, one will surely go.
It ultimately makes little sense to have three players competing for the same spot, and as per La Gazzetta dello Sport, there are targets such as Denzel Dumfries and Serge Aurier who have been linked with a move.
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Neither Calabria nor Conti have been able to cement their place in the line-up, with the former making 27 appearances this past season, while the latter featured 26 times.
In turn, it raises an important question. Who will Milan look to move on this summer if they are intent on bringing in an upgrade in that department?
Financial argument says Calabria…
It’s worth noting that the signs are already pointing to Calabria. As per MilanNews, he has changed his agent and via a report in the paper edition of Tuttosport, it’s suggested that Sevilla and Real Betis are interested in him. The nationality of his new agency? Spanish.
MilanNews build on that, citing a report from Sky Sport Italia, suggesting that Calabria is the more likely option to leave this summer, and some will question the sense in that given Conti’s injury troubles and his inconsistency since he arrived from Atalanta in 2017.
There is one important reason as to why Calabria could be the one to go. Given he’s a product of our youth system, he ultimately represents a sizeable capital gain depending on the fee that he would command as evidently we didn’t spend any money to sign him, and it would subsequently give us a financial boost.
It was a similar scenario particularly when Patrick Cutrone was sold as it was a vital way to try and balance the books for that financial year, and perhaps even dating back to the exits of Manuel Locatelli and others.
Calabria looked pretty impressive towards the end of the season as he produced a string of solid performances. However, he has been guilty of costly errors and constant lapses of concentration in the past, and it has to be questioned whether or not the 23-year-old has simply put those behind him or it’s a temporary upturn.
If Milan are insistent on finding an upgrade, it doesn’t matter too much who remains as the back-up option. Given his injury troubles and battle to get into the side, perhaps Conti is more open to the idea of providing competition in that position moving forward, whereas Calabria will expect to be a starter.
From a business perspective and in terms of adding funds to go out and sign our own targets this summer, it all points to Calabria being the one to move on.