The agent of AC Milan full-back Andrea Conti – Mario Giuffredi – has revealed that his client had offers from six other clubs during the summer.
The Rossoneri have had problems with the right-back position this season, as Davide Calabria has already had two red cards and Conti had struggled for consistency.
Recently, Calciomercato.com reported that Paolo Maldini – along with Zvonomir Boban and Ricky Massara – will ‘intervene to resolve the problem’ in the January window.
However, Conti put in comfortably his best performance of the season on Sunday night in Milan’s 1-0 defeat to Juventus, looking solid at both ends of the field.
The 25-year-old was linked with an exit from the club during the summer transfer window with Parma and Werder Bremen most seriously linked.
MilanNews.it interviewed his agent Giuffredi, who revealed Conti’s passion to stay and fight for his place in the team.
“Yesterday he played a great game and I hope he will do others to prove he was the old player once again,” he said.
“After yesterday’s game it is normal that he is feeling good, the challenge with Juve has been to increase self-esteem and self-confidence.
“But a game is not enough, you have to wait for others. He played in his role, he started at right-back in a four man defence, but he played full-back unlike the game with Lecce and Roma where he played to the right in a three-man defence.
“His problem is tactical, if he is a full-back he must be a full-back. In the first two races with Pioli he played in the third position on the right, with Theo Hernandez pushing up on the left.
“He needs to be a full-back, whether he is four or in a three-man defense where he plays on the wing. With Juve he was back in his natural role.
“If you watch the two previous matches, before Conti’s handball against Lecce he had played a good game, then after the penalty, nothing was recognised.
“It was an unfortunate episode. In the first 30 minutes against Roma he was good, then on a corner kick Mancini escapes and from there he breaks down. There were these two episodes that led him to break down, this is the difference compared to the other two games, where he was doing very well anyway.
“In the summer he had Parma, Werder Bremen, Crystal Palace, SPAL, and other teams, at least five or six proposals. He insisted on staying here at Milan, but there were proposals that we didn’t look for – they came by themselves.
“Andrea had a lot of bad luck, and I am convinced that the match against Juve is the beginning of a revival, because yesterday he proved to be strong.
“We are all vulnerable, if there are positive episodes we pull ourselves up, if there are negative episodes it is hard to react. I hope that from now on it will be a new beginning because the fans have always been great with him.”
Player Ratings: Juventus 1-0 AC Milan – Conti and Bennacer impressive, Piatek disappoints again
