Speaking during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian was asked about a host of topics across the entirety of Serie A. The questions on Milan focused on the attack and the failed pursuit of Zirkzee.
Milan appeared destined to sign the Dutch striker from Bologna given his €40m release clause but the deal dragged on thanks to the commission demands of his agent.
Manchester United ended up triggering the release clause and they were willing to pay the agent what he wanted, so the move went through. That meant Milan changed their approach and secured a €13m deal for Alvaro Morata instead.
As Montolivo explains, he is a different sort of striker than Zirkzee but has plenty of quality to offer the team.
“No, even here we are in the presence of two different players. I would have liked to see Zirkzee at AC Milan because he would have enhanced the runs of Leao, Pulisic, and Loftus-Cheek. He was, in short, the ideal offensive director for the Rossoneri, but Morata is an underrated player and, in the quality-price ratio, is a perfect buy,” he said.
“On his own, he does not solve the goal-scoring problem; together with an old-fashioned centre forward, however, he could form a well-matched pair. Milan’s problem is the team, which needs to be strengthened, not who leads it. Fonseca is an excellent coach, he comes from two seasons in France done very well. The prejudice against him is unfair.”
The other Milan player that Montolivo spoke about was Rafael Leao. The Italian appears to be very frustrated by the perceived lack of progression from the Portuguese winger who he thinks is only using part of his potential right now.
“It seems to me that his current ‘maximum’ is enough for him. He seems to be content with being a great player – because he is – but he must realise that he is only exploiting 50 per cent of his potential. I think he can do much more, but something has to click inside him. My feeling is that with him you need a little more stick and a little less carrot. But I have confidence and hope he can have a great championship,” he said.
