Some weeks ago, Aston Villa appeared close to signing AC Milan’s Pervis Estupinan. A deal failed to materialise and the player continues to struggle.
In July, Sport Witness covered that Milan had seen Morgan Rogers’ big-money sale to Chelsea as a big opportunity. They felt they could ask for a bigger package from the Villans for their left-back and that is when discussions stalled.
Soon, the player joined Milan’s training camp for pre-season friendlies. Ruben Amorim was clear about assessing his suitability to the squad but the decision doesn’t seem to be going in the right direction.
Big criticism for Estupinan
The Ecuadorian played for Milan in their pre-season friendly against Inter yesterday. Journalist Andrea Longoni wrote about his performance, making it clear that he is not worthy of playing for the Rossoneri.
Longoni also expressed his belief that Milan’s failure to sell him to Aston Villa is a big issue.
In his column for Calciomercato, he wrote: “Continuing with Estupinan is a clear mistake. I believe there’s been talk of Amorim wanting to take a chance on him, only because the club is having trouble selling him. I refuse to believe they like him.”
The journalist pointed out the left-back’s problems around concentration as they held him back in the defeat to Inter.
Going further, he urged Milan to part ways as soon as possible and even accept loans.
“He’s not a Milan player. I think the Rossoneri club needs to accept this. Trying to sell him, even on loan at worst, is the most sensible thing to do. He should be replaced with a wide player worthy of that shirt.”
Our take: Right decision to go for Ruggeri
Estupinan and Matteo Ruggeri currently lie at the opposite ends of the spectrum. One player’s stock has dropped and other player’s stock has only gone up after joining Atletico Madrid.
The Italian is also younger than the South American and costs Aston Villa a somewhat similar amount too.
He comes in at the back of crucial Champions League experience with both Atalanta and Atleti. As a result, the 24-year-old will come in as a readymade fit and he won’t wait too long to start impressing under Unai Emery.
