AC Milan chief Moncada details background of Morata, Reijnders and Pulisic deals

All three players have proven excellent for the Rossonero this season.

Moncada told MilanNews.it: “Morata is the perfect example of the anti-algorithm. We signed the captain of the Spanish national team, which won everything and had already played in Italy. I was completely convinced that Alvaro was perfect for us because his mentality is that of a leader.

“I spoke to his agent first, Zlatan Ibrahimovic then spoke to the player because they already knew each other, and then we spoke together.

“I like this example because it doesn't come from data. He scored 22 goals for Atletico Madrid last season and is still a very, very interesting player with us who feels happy here.”

On Pulisic, he continued: “He was an incredible player at Borussia Dortmund, that's why Chelsea signed him. He can play on the right, on the left, as a 10, behind the striker.

“In Germany he had the most remarkable statistics, but not at Chelsea. We didn't think it was possible that a player like this couldn't perform at Premier League level.

“Timing plays a major role in transfers. It wouldn't have been possible for us to sign Pulisic two years earlier, but it happened when we lost Brahim Diaz. He played wide right and had the best season of his entire life with us, but now we also use him as a trequartista.”

Reijnders is also a player who has exceeded expectations since his arrival in 2023 from AZ Alkmaar.

“There are sometimes aspects that give you some doubts. Reijnders needed a lot of time to reach this level and had to leave AZ on loan to get playing time. Obviously he was in our database, we had a lot of reports where he wasn't bad, but he wasn't at the top either,” Moncada said.

“However, when AZ played in the Conference League, I saw him play against Lazio and then at West Ham. There I realized that this player could do everything, ran fast and was technically gifted. He is always positive and tries to carry the ball forward.

“I thought we should bring him to Milan and see how he develops. Stefano Pioli told us in June that he wanted a midfielder with quality, a number 8 who pulled the strings, we showed him Reijnders and he was immediately impressed.

“I think he can easily score ten goals this season, but also provide assists, which could be just as important.”

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