Why Kevin-Prince Boateng would be a bad signing for AC Milan

Two years ago, AC Milan sold Kevin-Prince Boateng to German club Schalke.  It was a move that was a long time coming.

The midfielder had been at the San Siro for three years and had developed into an enigma.  He had huge highs, like the October day in 2011 when he came on as a substitute and scored the second-fastest hat trick in Serie A history—14 minutes to David Trezeguet's 10 in 2001—to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 win over Lecce.

But he also had some lows.  He was prone to sulking and sometimes looked out of place transitioning from a more box-to-box midfielder to a trequartista.  But even beyond any issues he may have had at the club, it was clear he was starting to sour on Serie A.

A small minority of boneheaded fans in Italy has given the league a bad reputation when it comes to racism.  The infamous incident in January of 2013 during a winter-break friendly against fourth-tier team Pro Patria—when Boateng booted the ball into the stands and then walked off the pitch—was probably one of the main factors in his decision to leave the club that summer.

Boateng's talent is undeniable.  He is an excellent passer who can serve as either a springboard from deep or as the final link between the midfield and the striker.  He's got a nose for goal too, as that day against Lecce showed.

He scored 13 times in three years for Milan and seven times in all competitions for Schalke last season.

This year he hasn't managed to find the net and has only notched four assists between the Bundesliga and Champions League. But the dip in production isn't the alarming thing about Boateng's season.  It's what's happened to him off the field.

In early May, Schalke suspended both Boateng and teammate Sidney Sam indefinitely. The explanation for the suspension was that they had not showed sufficient commitment to the team.

This seems to have been some time coming. Boateng's playing time had steadily decreased over the past few months. The last time he played 90 minutes in a match was February 18, when he played in Schalke's 2-0 loss in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid. In seven games he's been on the field since then he only started two of them. It's clear that he has been in the team's doghouse for quite some time.

It's almost certain that he'll leave Gelsenkirchen in the summer, and Milan has been mooted as a destination. There are no reports of concrete interest from the Rossoneri, but a week after his suspension the player said to the TV network Italia 1: "I love living in Milan...you can never say never in football."

Boateng would certainly be an injection of talent and, given his situation with his current club, could come cheap. But would such a move be beneficial? That's harder to tell.

This is the latest in a string of disciplinary issues Boateng has been involved in over the years. Before he switched to Ghana at the senior level, he played in Germany's youth setup, and at the U21 level he was dropped by then-coach Dieter Eilts for missing curfew (this article from German paper Die Welt addresses that).

It's distressing that this most recent incident is the second of its kind in the last 12 months. After the second game of the World Cup this past summer, Boateng, along with Sulley Muntari, was indefinitely suspended by the Black Stars after a row with assistant coach Kwesi Appiah.

This came after Boateng criticized manager Avram Grant after being left off the starting XI in the opener against the United States.

Boateng is indeed a player of quality, but can a team in Milan's position afford to have a player who's a potential discipline case on the roster? He's burned two bridges in less than a year, and on the field his play hasn't been anything to talk about.

Schalke's tie against Real Madrid is an exemplar of why it might be worth questioning his play as well as his work ethic. In the first leg at Veltins Arena—a game in which Boateng played 90 minutes—the Royal Blues looked toothless in attack and fell 2-0.

Boateng was suspended for the return due to yellow card accumulation, but the team went into the Bernabeu and won the game 4-3. They lost the aggregate 5-4 but came a late Iker Casillas save from knocking the reigning champs out of the competition. The team struggled epically in the last three months of the season but seemed to play better without Boateng in the lineup.

Maybe a change of scenery is good for him, but going back to a league that he may not be comfortable in for a team that is in the midst of a complete rebuild doesn't seem to be a good option.

On a team bereft of leaders, it's possible—even probable—that Boateng's attitude could be counterproductive.  This team has already had enough distractions this year with the saga over whether Silvio Berlusconi will sell the club.  A problem from within could be a serious blow to any attempts to rebuild the Rossoneri.

It could be tempting to reacquire a player who was one of the big names on the last successful Rossoneri teams.  But doing that will be a mistake.  Boateng can be a bit of a headcase, and Milan can't afford to have a player go off the rails while they try to rebuild and make their way back up the table.