Bennacer, Kessie and Tonali – Milan without their Scudetto midfield | OneFootball

Franck Kessie was let go last summer, Sandro Tonali has been sold and Ismael Bennacer will be sidelined until the end of the year. Therefore, AC Milan are now without the midfield that brought them the Scudetto.

The Milan of the Scudetto, as highlighted by our colleagues at SempreMilan.it, is gone. It seems like a lot of time has passed, but within a year the Rossoneri dismantled the team without major investments. Not only has the team not made the leap in quality, but Franck Kessie is even yet to be replaced.

We can all remember how Kessie was used as an attacking midfielder in the decisive game, perhaps because Diaz had proved to be unreliable. Regardless, he was not replaced and his absence was felt, even if Rade Krunic improved as the season went on.

Having learnt that lesson (or maybe not), it was surprising that Milan decided to sell Sandro Tonali, who was one of the few consistencies in the season that just ended. The question is if a worthy replacement can be found, despite the fact his sale yielded €70m.

Ismael Bennacer’s situation must also be evaluated, as he will be out for the next six months. It will take some time for him to get in shape and there’s also the African Cup of Nations next season.

The Rossoneri midfield will depend on the Algerian, perhaps combined with inexperienced players in the shape of new signings. On paper, to improve on last season’s fourth place, at least three top-level midfielders would be needed. Maybe this is a utopia, though.