Milan, the defense doesn’t work. Kalulu and Tomori, cracks in the wall, the future is Thiaw

The Scudetto wall has become less insurmountable: Kalulu and Tomori had formed the best central pairing of last season, protecting Milan from opposing attacks. At the end of the season, the Diavolo was the group with the most points in the standings and the fewest goals conceded: 31, the same share as Napoli. Other numbers rewarded the performance of the two; Tomori closed with an average grade of 6.37, Kalulu, a real revelation, even higher, at 6.39. To understand the current decline, we can start from here. Tomori’s votes have dropped but remain just above the sufficiency: average of 6.01. Kalulu is further behind: 5.73. Due to the credit accumulated last year, it cannot be considered at risk of rejection. However, the negative judgments brought him straight to the bench: from March to May 2022 he played all the league games as a starter, without even missing a minute. In the last five of this year he’s only started on a couple of occasions, he’s taken over on two others, with Sampdoria he’s sat out the entire evening. More continuous in using Tomori, who however did not avoid some blue pencil mistakes.

Thus, the hierarchies of the Rossoneri defense are more mobile than ever: if Kalulu has gone down, Thiaw has gone up. Paid just 7 million, he was the exception to the rule of the summer transfer market: positive performances, votes that could earn him promotion to future starting centre-back. Kjaer’s fate was different: he had claimed space and between the championship and the Champions League (owner in the double challenge of the quarterfinals and in the first leg of the derby) had won it back. At 34 he cannot be the lighthouse of next year’s defense. For Tomori or Kalulu to become one again, the course must be reversed. At Juve’s home it is the right occasion to start the move. Both remain non-transferable: the club has no intention of intervening in the department. The summer budget will be dedicated to strengthening the other departments. Unless indispensable offers arrive from abroad: Kalulu, who arrived at zero and never having played in a first team, would guarantee a substantial capital gain. Tomori, paid 29 million to Chelsea, today has a slightly higher valuation. If he returns to raise the wall, he will also raise the value of the card.