Farewell Viking: Simon Kjaer’s Milan dream approaches a bittersweet end

While the spotlight will shine brightly on Stefano Pioli and Olivier Giroud during Saturday night’s game against Salernitana, Simon Kjaer will also bid farewell to AC Milan.

After weeks of speculation about whether or not he would pen a new deal, the agent of Kjaer – Mikkel Beck – confirmed a couple of weeks ago that the defender will leave Milan at the end of the season on a free transfer once his contract expires.

Kjaer arrived at Milan on an initial loan deal in the spring of 2020 together with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to add experienced strength to the young Milan team that had started the season dreadfully under Marco Giampaolo.

A 5-0 defeat against Atalanta in Bergamo under the then-new head coach Stefano was rock bottom for many supporters, highlighting the fragile mentality and defensive incompetence of the squad.

The idea behind the Dane’s arrival was to rectify some of those issues, and the fact he earned a permanent deal and since then he has made 120 appearances for Milan speaks volumes.

Kjaer provided an abundance of leadership, something that he has naturally accrued over his decade and a half playing at the highest level and with his many experiences across different countries.

The Dane very much falls into the ‘senator’ category as a vocal organiser of the defence out on the field, and when he was at his best physically there is no doubting that he was a great asset to the rearguard as well as an excellent mentor for the younger players.

In his four and a half years – characterised by a Scudetto win and a Champions League semi-final – Kjaer at times managed to find that consistency that perhaps he had practically never managed to in his previous career experiences.

He can leave the Rossoneri feeling certain of having given everything for a shirt that has always been his dream since he was a boy, something that his agent actually confirmed.