AC Milan director Mirabelli rules out January signings

AC Milan sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli says the club will not make any January signings despite being in the bottom half of the Serie A table.

The Rossoneri have won one of their last four Serie A matches, a narrow home success against Crotone last time out, despite heavy investment in the squad.

Mirabelli brought in a host of players, including Portugal striker Andre Silva and Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci, in the off-season.

But even though Milan are well off the pace in Serie A and unlikely to reach their goal of Champions League qualification - sitting 12 points outside the top four - coach Gennaro Gattuso will have to work with the team he has for now.

"I am always working, it is important to remain updated on everything," Mirabelli told Gazzetta dello Sport. "This weekend I will be in Germany to watch a few games but we won't sign anybody in January.

"We won't do anything, I'll tell you that as official information. There could be some outgoings, but these will be small things. 

"I ask you, after buying 11 players, do you think taking a 12th would be the right thing to do? We had a good transfer campaign in the summer but I don't have nostalgia for that, there’s time for everything."

Few of Milan's arrivals have made a significant impact, with Andre Silva yet to score in Serie A and having been linked with a switch to Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mirabelli claims he did not pay over the odds for any of the 11 signings made by Milan, although he accepts there is more to come from many of the new faces.

"The figures don't seem excessive to me. Everyone considers the total outlay, but I invite you to separate and analyse it," Mirabelli added.

"We didn't overpay for anyone and I'll tell you something more: if, in theory, we put some of our new buys on the market we would make money on them.

"I consider them all to be valid players who form a solid group and give us peace of mind for the future. They're the solid centre of Milan and although many of them aren't living up to expectations there are no flops.

"And don't forget we brought in a good amount from sales - and then look at who renewed their contracts: [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, [Patrick] Cutrone, [Davide] Calabria, [Alessandro] Plizzari."

Mirabelli has offered his support to Gattuso

Results have not improved despite Vincenzo Montella's sacking, with replacement Gattuso leading Milan to two league wins from his six games in charge, although the Rossoneri beat rivals Inter to reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

"We needed to give a strong signal to the youngsters in terms of Milan DNA," Mirabelli said. "Rino was chosen, full stop.

"He's not a makeshift solution, I take responsibility and I'm happy with the way he's working. It took hard work to improve, there were already aggravating circumstances in December. I've found someone who works even more than me."