AC Milan now face competition to land Udinese star Lazar Samardzic because Atalanta have joined the race to sign him, according to a report.
As Calciomercato.com report, Juventus’ new offer to Atalanta for Teun Koopmeiners is a clear signal that they really want the Dutchman. It is worth €59m in total, and with La Dea not including him in their squad for the European Super Cup, the feeling is that the negotiations is only going one way.
Atalanta do not want to be caught unprepared for when/if Koopmeiners leaves, and they have set their sights on Matt O’Riley. Celtic are reluctant to sell him, but if the Bergamo club were to send an offer of €30m they would likely give in.
However, Atalanta have also started talks with Samardzic’s entourage and have asked for information on his situation, a move that could precede a concrete negotiation in the next few days. Gasperini likes the Serbia international, who for his part would accept a move there.
Samardzic was and still is a target for Milan, the report adds, because Paulo Fonseca likes his quality and his versatility. Udinese know this and they want €25m to sell, which Milan deem too much and have tried to lower with counterparts.
The Rossoneri hoped that the player’s desire to take a step forward in his career could push his current club to lower their demands in the final days of the window, but Atalanta’s interest risks complicating their plans.