Marco Pellegrino has become the ninth acquisition of a busy transfer window by AC Milan this summer, and the first for the defensive department.
On their official website, Milan confirmed earlier in the week that they have completed the permanent signing of Pellegrino from Club Atlético Platense. The Argentinian defender has signed a contract with the Rossoneri until 30 June 2028.
The president of Club Atletico Platense, Sebastian Ordonez, lifted the lid on how the negotiation with Milan went for Pellegrino including the terms agreed upon during an interview that came out earlier today.
So, let’s take a look at what AC Milan fans can expect of their latest singing…
Back story
Born in Bueno Aires on 18 July 2002, Pellegrino is 21 years old. Along with possessing an Argentinian passport, the player also has Italian citizenship from his parental grandfather.
He said in an interview after his move to Italy was confirmed that he can understand and speak the language to a good level which is good to have as this will hopefully allow him to settle faster and better in the country.
Pellegrino joined the Platense youth sector and been a one club man since, moving up the ranks and finally becoming a regular first team player in the 2022-23 season, making 17 appearances in the Argentine first division and even getting his first professional goal on the final game of the season in a 1-1 draw away at Gimnasia.
His performances during this season caught the eye of many clubs from Europe but it was Milan in the end who prevailed and secured his services.
Style of play
At 6ft tall, Pellegrino is not the tallest of centre-backs, but he is very quick and likes to play a high line. He is a very aggressive defender off the ball as he likes going in for 50-50s and isn’t scared to put his body on the line, although he is careful when doing so as he only picked up three yellow cards in 17 appearances.
He is left-footed, and he can use that left foot of his well as he is very calm and composed on the ball. He likes playing from the back and likes to do line breaking passes as well as delivering great long balls. He also likes to carry the ball forward.
Due to his great acceleration and good agility, Pellegrino can also do a job at left back and thanks to how composed he is on the ball and great awareness, can play just ahead of the defence and shield it well.
Strengths
Acceleration: Pellegrino is super quick as since he likes to play high, this quality of his comes in handy when he needs to retain possession or when he needs to carry the ball forward. He is rarely beaten in a race by another player.
Passing: The Argentine knows how to pick a good pass. He is good at breaking the line with a single pass and his passing accuracy last season was among the best in the Argentinian topflight from defenders.
Awareness: Despite being so young and only have played 17 times in professional football, the defender has a great sense of awareness in the pitch and can scan danger fast. This allows him to have solid positioning during the game which enables less danger to come towards the team.
Areas to improve
Aerial duals: A part of the game Pellegrino needs to work on is his game in the air. Due to now being super tall for a defender, the centre half gets beaten In the air a lot so this is something he needs to work on.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a smart move on the face of things. As mentioned, the transfer fee is low and due to that the risks from this are minimal. Since this is someone Geoffrey Moncada found, that boosts the hopes.
This can be another Thiaw-esque move, depending on the chances he gets and if he settles to life in Italy well. He could play in the Coppa Italia, for example, and this is for sure an investment for the future rather than the present.
Transfer Rating: 7/10
He looks more as left defender. Reminds me of the young P. Maldini
Milan can use him both CB and Lb as well he played early days as DM
He can do same as stones in man city be extra Mid when moving up
Instead of Calabria and Theo
Yes. Hes not so much of a centerback.. maybe even dm might do for him.. i even prefer him over krunic
I’d be surprised if he gets anywhere as our 5th choice CB.
But good to know we trust someone from the Argentinian league more than our own youth players who we’ve worked with for years.
But hey nobody gets paid to promote youth team players!
LMAOOOOO You are always so nasty towards new signings. It’s typical. And having lived in Argentina and having ties to the country, you really don’t know what you’re talking about.
Argentina has been known for producing high quality talent. And Lautaro is sadly one of those that we missed out on.
I know Argentina well.
Have you heard of this country called Italy?
Apparently they’ve won 4 World Cups. But then somewhere around 2010 the entire nation, all 60m people, just forgot how to play football…..
It’s truly remarkable. It’s called The Great F##k Up.
I have nothing against this kid or any of the other signings. They’re just caught up in a system like cattle except farmers usually like to keep cattle for a few years to fatten them up.
Oh yes. I know Italy very well. The country that hasn’t qualified for a world cup in nearly a decade.
You apparently know nothing about Argentina.
You left a nasty comment under this article. And these players use the internet and many of them know how to speak English. Your attitude is just uncalled for.
You defend some like De Sciglio and Krunic endlessly on here, and then make a remark towards a hot prospect in Argentina.
And I know for a fact that Milan shouldn’t ignore talent in the country any longer. Many top notch footballers come from there.
Your attitude is toxic.
You call someone else toxic?
Hilarious.
Do you think Italy struggling since for the past decade has something to do with the state of Italian football?
Either Italy just randomly stopped producing footballers OR the system isn’t working. And I’m going with the latter.
I’ve identified what I think is the main cause – the excessive number of transfers in Serie A which are disrupting players’ development.
No other sport has this level of turnover.
As for who I welcome to my club – well the criteria really is quite simple – they play or played for my club…
Pellegrino is now and forever will be a Milan player so I’ll be supporting long after you’ve turned on him.
It does get a bit exhausting though having to defend players that I didn’t want signed in the first place against fans who turn on those players after initially being all excited.
You know what’s remarkable? Just about how little you know about football. And that’s on full display for everyone here to see. This Argentinian player could very well be playing for the Italian National Team next year, and then you’ll be championing him just because of that.
You talk such nastiness towards our new signings and it’s leading me to believe you should go to Sempreinter or something because you talk like an Inter fan.
Also, turnover happens dude. It happens in Real Madrid (I know that for a FACT). It happens in other leagues.
It’s exhausting seeing someone as awful as you taking a verbal dump on this team every single day, day in and day out. If you hate this team so much, leave this site then.
Also, nobody is being disrupted. We have the same base as we did last season and simply reinforced to actually compete.
Tomori the headless swine to the bench~
i believe his a fighter
“Since this is someone Geoffrey Moncada found, that boosts the hopes.”
This might be the only thing that I can put a hope to for this transfer. Hopefully a next Thiaw, not a next Gustavo Gomez.
Someone should check if Geoffrey Moncada has offshore bank accounts because all of these transfers are looking increasingly dodgy.
That’s a pretty serious accusation. Do you know what libel is?
I’m sure he’s got better things to do than sue some random person on the internet.
But I would welcome a full investigation into the football transfer market.
the back line is my only worry. glad we brought in Pellegrino
Classic pessimism towards existing players/endless optimism towards the new players….
Most of the back line helped win us the title and get us to the semi-finals of the Champions League with 3 clean sheets in 4 games.
The new signings further up the pitch have not only never achieved much for other clubs, but have achieved nothing for your club.
So how about you show a little respect for the people who actually delivered the title?
You’re on here endlessly screeching about new signings slamming every single one that we did.
Kjaer, by the way, has suffered several major injuries and isn’t the player that first joined us. We needed a new face in the backline.
You being incredibly nasty is well noted. Great attitude to have towards a young player who likely will be the next big thing. I bet you’d be against Federico Redondo joining us too, and I have a feeling he very well might.
And you’re the one on here endlessly screeching…full stop.
You better not turn on this kid if he struggles to settle in a new club where he’ll have limited playing time.
You turn on new players before they even play, so who are you even to lecture me on anything? Clueless dude. It’s called Sempreinter. That’s your website. go there and stop trolling us.
I agree with you about Redondo. I think he can be great player in Milan. He can replace Krunic if Krunic sell to Fenerbahce or other team.
I hope Federico Redondo comes too and takes the DM spot right from under our noses. I hope so, as someone with ties to both Spain and Argentina 😉 Trust the talent!
I know this will anger someone immensely.
But you know what’s interesting? Maldini’s Heir was defending Origi on here. I thought he wanted more Italian players? I bet he hates Retegui too. And who knows Pellegrino here may end up representing Italy as he said himself he feels many connections with the country and his grandfather is someone he still visits. 🙂 He hasn’t played for a national team yet. Retegui style.