Paulo Fonseca declared after the game against Manchester City that he would like Alexis Saelemaekers to stay, and that could change AC Milan’s mercato plans.
As Calciomercato.com write, Saelemaekers was one of the best on the pitch in the match against Rapid Wien and he kept those positive signs going against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, getting an assist and creating plenty with his dribbles.
The efforts of the former Bologna loanee were not in vain and in his post-match interview Fonseca made his thoughts known: “Alexis is a player that I like a lot for his quality. He is one of those that all coaches want to have, because he can play in many positions. He has confidence, I would like him to stay.”
The stance of the management is that Saelemaekers can leave Milan, who believe that they can get €20m from his sale after a good season on loan at Bologna increased his valuation. His exit could unblock the incoming market too.
However, Fonseca’s words were clear and must be taken into consideration, even if at the moment Milan have Samuel Chukwueze and Christian Pulisic for the right flank plus Rafael Leao and Noah Okafor for the left.
In the past few days, several English clubs have been active in wanting to sign the Belgian. Milan have kept dialogues with Leicester and West Ham alive, but in the background there are also Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town.
Fonseca has made himself heard and sent a strong signal to the management, but he will also be aware that by sacrificing Saelemaekers he could then welcome another strong technical player like Lazar Samardzic.