‘We need more’ – Capello and Sacchi give advice on Fonseca and Milan’s mercato | OneFootball

The signing of Alvaro Morata has been praised by Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, but both former AC Milan coaches believe that further signings are needed to catch up with Inter.

Morata’s arrival was made official last week but there is once again growing impatience among large sections of the fanbase regarding the lack of movement in Milan’s mercato, given that he is so far the only new signing to arrive.

While a number of targets such as Strahinja Pavlovic, Youssouf Fofana, Lazar Samardzic and Emerson Royal have all been rumoured to be close to arriving, we are now less than one month from the start of the season and none are actually over the line.

La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke to both Sacchi and Capello as part of a ‘four wise men’ piece regarding the current state of the Milan squad, and the former believe that more work must be done to catch Inter.

“I think there is a gap between Inter and Milan, in the sense that the Nerazzurri are, at the moment, better equipped. However, Milan, thanks also to the purchases they are finalising, have the possibility of catching up with their rivals,” he said.

“However, just the addition of new players will not be enough: it would be too simple. It is about finding a game that suits the team, you need to give it a style, an idea. Fonseca’s role will be very important: he is the one who has to lead the moves on the market, because he is the one who has the technical responsibility of the group.

“Fonseca, in addition to having to choose the elements that are most functional to his project, also has the task of verifying their character aspect: they need reliable people, who give their all on the pitch.

“I hope that the directors support him in this task, which is anything but easy. Assembling a team is the most complicated thing in football. However, if things work, they can skip ahead and do great things already this season.”

Capello spoke more specifically about the reinforcements for the defence and midfield that have been mentioned in the media over the last few days, but he also stressed the importance of Fonseca implementing his ideas.

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“If Milan sign Pavlovic and Fofana, they will have made two important signings that will add to a striker like Morata, capable of scoring goals with a certain consistency, but also of giving a hand when not in possession,” he said.

“In addition to bringing in the new signings, Fonseca will have to find that tactical balance that was missing last year when, every time the Rossoneri lost the ball, the opponents were dangerous or even scored.

“Leao is a great player with the ball at his feet, but he doesn’t cover much when others attack and his team-mates are somehow called upon to fill in. That’s why Fofana would be really useful. Even with the Frenchman and the Serbian, Milan’s transfer market shouldn’t be considered closed.

“The management would be on the right track, but the gap with Inter, although small, would still be there. The Nerazzurri are already complete and have further strengthened compared to last year; the Rossoneri are growing, but they still have a long way to go. Same goes for Juventus who moved well, but are complete.”