Just like practically every area of AC Milan’s squad, the goalkeeping department looks set to undergo changes this summer.
According to Calciomercato.com, Gianluigi Donnarumma flew by helicopter with Ibrahimovic to Montecarlo to meet Mino Raiola and reiterate to his agent the desire to stay with Milan.
Asmir Begovic will return to Bournemouth at the end of the season when his loan expires, while Antonio Donnarumma is expected to remain beyond the summer.
Pepe Reina is one of the situations that needs resolving though. The Spanish goalkeeper, after achieving Premier League survival with Aston Villa, has announced that he will not retire and that he will return to Milan once his loan expires, where he still has another year of contract.
The €3million net that Reina is set to earn could be enough to convince Milan to try and offload him, and Villa want to try and sign him permanently. If the Birmingham club do not succeed, at that point the Rossoneri will look for another destination.
Alessandro Plizzari is also back from his loan spell at Livorno, and his future is still to be written. In recent weeks Reggina have come forward, with sports director Taibi (the former Rossoneri goalkeeper) even having met Maldini to discuss a dry loan for the next season, a hypothesis that would allow Plizzari to continue to play with continuity.
I can see no reason why Villa would want to extend Reina’s tenure. He did okay, but he will turn 38 during the new season and we will have Heaton back.
We need to look forward and dismiss the old Steve Bruce notion of recruiting veterans (including Daniel Sturridge).