Sandro Tonali’s move to Newcastle United was ‘a shame’ as it is always a shame to see Italian players not flourishing for the country’s big clubs.
That’s according to Zvonimir Boban, via Tuttomercatoweb, who admitted he is sorry to see the player at Newcastle and not Milan.
The Croatian was speaking after Milan’s defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League, with the Reds running out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai despite a goal in the third minute from Christian Pulisic.
It was a chastening evening for the Italians, who’ve endured a difficult start to the season under new manager Paulo Fonseca.
Questions are being asked about the make up of the current squad and whether it is good enough to compete at the level that is expected of Milan.
There is also a distinct lack of Italian stars compared to the famous sides in the past, with the likes of Marco Sportiello, Lorenzo Torriani, Matte Gabbia, Davide Calabria, Filippo Terracciano. Alessandro Florenzi and Kevin Zeroli not key players by any stretch.
That’s a shame according to Boban, who thinks the club may be suffering the consequences of selling Tonali to Newcastle last summer.
“Milan sold Tonali, their best Italian player and very attached to the shirt,” he said.
“Seeing him away from Milan is a shame, these things then have to be paid for. To come to Milan, he refused Juventus who had offered €42m to Brescia: these are the values that must never be lost.
“Big problems for Milan. There is no construction of play, the two central defenders are very slow and awkward, they don’t have the courage and personality to play the ball forward.
“In the middle of the pitch there is no one who takes responsibility to do more concrete, important things, to get the ball to the wingers or the attackers. Then for an hour they play on the right? I don’t understand. I’ve never seen a ball on the left for Theo or Leao.”
