AC Milan are likely to lose playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu on a free transfer if they do not at least move towards his requests, because if they don’t there are teams that will.
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According to the latest from Calciomercato.com, the requests of Calhanoglu and his agent Gordon Stipic to renew his contract – which is due to expire in June 2021 – is not the €7m net being reported by some places but more around the €6m figure.
That is still a big pay rise from the current €2.5m that the Turkey international earns, but he has shown was he can do post-lockdown, forming a formidable partnership with the other players in the front four and finding his best form.
If someone were to decide to give Calhanoglu the salary he asks for – and it seems Juventus and Atletico Madrid are – they would sign him for free since his contract is set to expire.
Calciomercato estimate the cost of replacing Calhanoglu with a player of similar stature at €35-40m, to which a respectable salary should obviously be added (€2.5m over five years), so it would be a commitment of around €50m.
Juve and Atletico ‘have sniffed the deal’ the report continues, but Milan do not believe that he is worth the €3.5m per year pay rise that he is asking for, leaving them with a dilemma.