AC Milan rejected offers in the summer from three clubs for Jan-Carlo Simic and the injury crisis at centre-back means they might well be glad they did, a report claims.
Calciomercato.com report that Stefano Pioli will call Simic up from the Primavera for Saturday’s game against Udinese with Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu and Marco Pellegrino injured, leaving just Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw as healthy options.
Simic impressed last season with Ignazio Abate’s side as they reached the final four of the UEFA Youth League, and he went with the senior squad for the preseason tour of the USA, starting against Real Madrid.
After being signed from Stuttgart thanks to the work of Geoffrey Moncada and the scouting team, Simic convinced Abate’s technical staff to rely on him as a modern and versatile defender who still has huge room for growth at 18.
This trust now extends to Pioli too and is ready to be reconfirmed in the coming months, when the agents of the Serbian will meet with the Rossoneri management to discuss what the best path could be in the next phase of his career.
Frosinone, Club Brugge and Nottingham Forest made initial contacts with his entourage to explore the possibilities of a loan deal but these were rejected, and now we must see what the future holds.