AC Milan seem to be giving serious thought to bringing Max Allegri back as the head coach, and it would have an obvious impact on various players.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, the current idea is to proceed with the ‘Italianisation’ of Milan in the summer, which means hiring Allegri as the new manager and Fabio Paratici as the sporting director.

If this were the future, who would benefit in the squad and who would see their stock drop, due to their technical characteristics or character issues? The paper has made some predictions.

The foundation

Allegri’s football starts with a physical and solid defense. You can say anything about his style, but the fact that he knows how to build a wall at the back and enhance the qualities of his central defenders is an established fact.

He has not only done it with Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini either. Under him Bremer became a pillar of Juventus, Gatti reached the national team and Danilo experienced a second youth. In his first cycle at Juve, Allegri always finished with the best defence in the league.

Milan, on the other hand, have let in too many goals since their Scudetto seaon. Whether he uses a three-man defence like in his Juve 2.0 or switches to a four-man back line, Allegri would certainly appreciate Kyle Walker’s experience and versatility, as well as Strahinja Pavlovic’s strength and aggression.

Fikayo Tomori (aggressive central defender) and Malick Thiaw (the most accustomed to building up from the back) would also remain valid options. Matteo Gabbia deserves a separate discussion: he is Italian, a Milanista and solid, so could become one of Allegri’s most relied upon players.

What’s missing? Theo Hernandez’s contractual situation – regardless of who will be the coach – requires the search for a new left-back.