After a stint abroad that lasted shortly over a year, former Fiorentina player Alia Guagni announced her departure from Atlético Madrid yesterday.
Almost immediately after the announcement was made, news began to circulate about other teams being interested in the player. One of those teams are Milan.
According to Luca Bendoni, the Rossonere are interested in bringing in the right-back to bolster their defence.
Getting Guagni would be quite the coup for the Rossonere. Alia is a defender with a wide array of weapons in their arsenal. The fullback is fast, reads play well, has a good sense of positioning and awareness, times their headers well; is an excellent crosser of the ball, and can bolster a team’s attack.
Guagni has made Milan her victim a few times, including in the first leg of their Coppa Italia qualifiers in February of 2020. The former captain scored the game-winning goal for la Viola in that match (albeit an offside one).
The defender is an experienced player who has played at the highest level, including at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The fullback was one of the standouts of the tournament and helped Italy secure a quarterfinal finish. She also happens to be the vice-captain of the Azzurre.
Mi aventura en Madrid termina aquí, ha sido un año y medio intenso, ¡he intentado de todas las maneras posibles dejar algo mío! Es hora de que siga adelante y encuentre un lugar donde pueda expresarme mejor, para crecer más! pic.twitter.com/p5rVBzWWN7
— Alia Guagni (@AliaGuagni) December 20, 2021
Guagni also has experience playing in the Champions League and has played in the competition for both Atlético Madrid and ACF Fiorentina. Alia put on some memorable performances in the competition for las Colchoneras, most notably against FC Barcelona.
During their quarter-final encounter in August of 2020, the fullback was tasked with defending Lieke Martens, a speedy midfielder who is also a Ballon d’Or nominee. Guagni won the majority of duels against the Dutch international, as she put on a commanding performance that shut her down.
Alia also helped Atlético Madrid win the Supercopa de España Femenina against the very same squad later that year.
However, the one team where Guagni had the most impact was at Fiorentina. She was the captain of the team for three years and led them to win the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia (twice), and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2018.
Alia is also a native of Firenze and is a Fiorentinian through and through. Seeing her suit up for Milan instead of la Viola would surely be quite strange. Nonetheless, there is a chance that it might happen.
The only drawback to a potential Guagni signing is that the fullback’s stint in Madrid was plagued by injuries. Those injuries also reduced the amount of playing time she had for Atlético. Nonetheless, the Milan management feels that she is a gamble that is worth taking.
Milanisti Non Evoluto has also stated that Guagni will be part of a series of transfers for Milan in the January window, as the team will seek to not only sign her but also another former Viola player, Martina Piemonte. Piemonte’s departure was announced by Fiorentina earlier today.
The journalist also claims that goalkeeper Selena Babb will be brought back from a loan spell, while Mária Korenčiová will depart the squad.
Milan Women might be undergoing another revolution next year, as there are also rumors that Valentina Giacinti and Verónica Boquete might leave due to their ongoing conflict with coach Maurizio Ganz.
There will be more news about this to come, so stay tuned as these proceedings unfold.
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