MN: Value over price – Milan management vindicated as €55m trio turn into stars | OneFootball

Christian Pulisic, Tijjani Reijnders and Alvaro Morata are three of the first names on the team sheet for AC Milan, and they look more and more like bargain signings.

MilanNews rewind to September 3, when – during the presentation of Tammy Abraham – CEO Giorgio Furlani responded to a question about why Milan look to sign players for €20m or less rather than going more all-in.

“In football, you focus on price and not value. We are convinced that we have signed strong players who will contribute to Milan’s success,” he said. His words clearly explain the management’s strategy and, when looking at some of the stars, they can argue it works.

Pulisic and Reijnders arrived on a permanent basis in the 2023 summer window from Chelsea and AZ Alkmaar respectively for a figure of around €20m, while Morata was bought in July from Atletico Madrid for around €15m.

They represent three rather ‘limited’ investments (especially considering the prices that now circulate in the world of football) but each have become essential. It starts with the American, who scored 15 goals last season and is already on seven this season.

Reijnders is behind him on four goals and the Dutchman is one of the players who has grown the most in the last two seasons. Some top clubs such as Manchester City are sniffing but Milan want to renew his deal, knowing his value has tripled compared to when he arrived so his pay should increase too.

Morata has only been here for a few months, but to understand his importance in the dressing room you just have to listen to Fonseca, who spoke at length about him in his pre-Madrid press conference.

“Alvaro is a very important player for me, not only as a player but as a professional. He is a very very intelligent player who is doing very well, he is very important for our team,” he said.

“He needs to play, what he is doing for the team is decisive for us. Playing here is special for him, but I expect to have Alvaro as we had him during the season. He worked hard for the team with a lot of energy.”

Milan spent €55m on the trio and they are now worth €96m as per Transfermarkt, perhaps a sign that the strategy is paying off after all.