Milan have officially signed attacking midfielder Max Vincenzo Anastasio from Bologna, with the Australia U20 international joining the Milan Futuro project.
The recruitment for the B-team matters more this summer than it did last, because the whole Futuro experiment is being rebuilt after a failed first year. Massimo Oddo is gone, Sergio Navarro is in, and the side that couldn't get out of Serie D now has to prove the pathway to the first team is real rather than theoretical.
Anastasio came through Venezia before moving to Bologna, where he scored four times in 17 games with the U18s and added one goal in 11 Primavera appearances. A goal every four or five games from an attacking midfielder at that level is decent without being spectacular, and the more interesting line on his CV is the Australia U20 cap.
He follows Edoardo Zanaga, signed from Empoli and announced yesterday, into Navarro's squad. More movement is expected before the season starts.
A low-cost punt on a teenager with international youth experience, exactly the kind of profile Futuro is supposed to develop.