Milan full-back Mattia De Sciglio has reportedly turned down a new contract in favour of a move to Juventus this summer.
The 24-year-old was handed his debut and flourished under the guidance of Max Allegri who reportedly told the defender to join him at Juventus during Juve’s Supercoppa final last season against AC Milan.
La Repubblica, Tuttosport, Sky Sport Italia and others now report that De Sciglio has rejected a new offer as his existing deal is due to expire in 2018, leaving Milan with the option of selling him this summer or risk losing him for free next year.
According to the reports in Italy, De Sciglio has informed Milan of his intention to leave the club, having spoken with Milan sporting director Massimo Mirabelli at the Milanello training ground at the weekend.
Could someone with knowledge of the kid compare him to Lichtsteiner/Alves and Sandro?
Seen de Sciglio many times for Italy – less so for Milan. He is regularly decried by Milan fans for his club performances. However when it comes to Italy he’s always done well. I have full confidence that he’d perform brilliantly at a better structured club like Juventus.
At World Cup 2014 he started the third group match against Uruguay, an extremely tough challenge against a vicious opponent, under difficult circumstances (Marchisio sent off). In such circumstances he played well, showed a lot of guts, allowed nothing past him and even managed to get forward a few times.
At the recent Euro Championship in France he was a starter at left-back. Did even better than in 2014. He was absolutely tremendous in the two games against Spain and Germany. Against the Spaniards he kept closing down opponents and throwing himself into tackles, fiercely protecting his side of the defence. Another courageous display versus Germany, capped by a well taken penalty in the shootout.
Compared to Matteo Darmian who’s often been hailed as Italy’s best wing back of recent years, I consider de Sciglio better (as well as being younger). This much was evident both in the 2014 and 2016 tournaments (the latter especially, where Darmian was terribly underwhelming). As I said, de Sciglio’s bravery is one his main qualities. He defends decently and gets forward to combine with the attacking players. As far as I’m concerned, an upgrade on Alves and Lichtsteiner at their current age.
Doubts over him exist mainly because his Milan form has been inconsistent over many years. Even that has explanations that do not lie specifically with the player’s ability itself. First of all Milan fans had exaggerated expectations of him from the beginning: new Maldini, etc. Then how do you expect the kid to develop any kind of confidence when at the age of 24, he’s never been part of a stable backline and has seen 5 different managers in charge?
Juventus would provide him with much greater stability in that regard. The defence is already set, he’d be playing alongside familiar faces he already knows from the Italy setup and with whom he’s played his best football. He’d be reuniting with Allegri, the coach who gave him his debut and under whom he displayed considerable early promise (before Milan began to cut and chop).
As far as I’m concerned he’s a great choice for Juventus, the perfect option to complement Alex Sandro on the left. That would give Juventus a pair of young, hungry, aggressive full-backs after years of using elderly players (Lichtsteiner, Evra, Alves) in those positions. He won’t cost a lot either with his contract expiring in 2018.
Another option I like is Pol Lirola – even younger and currently showing a lot of potential at Sassuolo where he’s playing on loan.
Sir, I thank you for this detailed description.
I trust our management completely, as they improve from year to year in correlation with the rest of Juventus.
If de Sciglio has been found worthy, then I trust that we have found a suitable replacement for our Swiss steamtrain and Brazilian magician. It takes only a little history lesson to remind people of how Bonucci was thrown out from Inter or how Barzagli was purchase for little money at Wolfsburg. It is not always the biggest brightest stars or talents who will turn out to be best for the team. (here not trying to deny that de Sciglio is talented)
For Pol Lirola I saw two games where he figured and I was very impressed with him. I look forward to see what he can grow into.
Well put, my friend. I have long been a fan of Mattia and been hoping we sign him this Summer. Depending on what happens in the champions league one of Alves and Lichsteiner will leave. Perhaps both. Though I would like to believe that the club would be more inclined to keep Stephan, to offer guidance and help the youngster integrate. Who better to learn from than one of several linchpins of 6 straight scudetti?
Price wise, I would expect 20-25m. Which is fine. Milan will not sell him on the cheap, despite his contractual status and I suspect that Montella might be shown the door with a more experienced coach brought in on big money. The new owners need more than to inject money, they need to make a statement of intent at a managerial level alongside the playing squad.
Lirola is better of remaining at Sassuolo, for he will gain more playing time there. He has been a first team regular of late, long may it continue!
First time I have seen you round these parts, Niko…so…welcome aboard. I hope to find more of your thoughts in due course.
Definitely a good target to pursue. Whatever problems still haunt MDS, I’m sure he can solve them with the help of a well structured and stabilized club like Juventus.
It is fantastic how versatile he is, he can play any role in defense. I know he had mental issues, fighting against depression and anxiety, but he has already put in a lot of work to resolve those problems and will only improve with a decent structure around him. He has seen what, 5 coaches in recent years? Now the management as a whole is changed too and on top of that, the players at Milan seem to be involved in some merry-go-round too, with so many loaned players coming and going..
I would be very pleased if Mattia arrived at Juve. Just as Sandro arrived as back-up for Evra, I see him do the same with Lichtsteiner/Alves. Be the understudy for a while and then conquer a starting spot.
I guess i never saw him in his prime, I have seen him a couple of times with ItalyMNT but he hasn’t impressesed or stood out in the slightest when i was watching. In my opinion there are only two Rightbacks and 1 left backs poised for world domination in their fields (TAA(from Liverpool) and Jao Cancelo(from Valencia); for left backs You just can not beat Mendy(from Monaco).
honestly these 3 kids are the next big deal and more than capable of filling in for Alves and Sandro in the future, they are the only Fullbacks we should be thinking about and snatching before RM,Barcelona or Bayern do! and believe me we will regret it if they do! TAA and Mendy are the next big thing!!!
What goes in MDS favour is the fact that he’s a well seasoned, despite his young age, full back who can play on either flank, who has experience from the league and our current manager and also – is Italian. All these things outweight the potential and flair the other examples you mentioned bring to the table.
Also, I would say that he’s a perfect fit for Juve and I value his consistency highly and I do think he’s currently got a high ceiling even though he’s yet to hit his prime. He would probably be a lot cheaper too.