AC Milan were in the running to sign Ruslan Malinovskyi last summer before he eventually moved to rivals Atalanta, a report has revealed.
According to Calciomercato.com, Milan were advised to take a look at signing Malinovskyi by club legend Andriy Shevchenko, who coaches the defender with the Ukraine national team.
Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Fiorentina were also keen at that time, but ultimately the 27-year-old ended up moving to Atalanta from Genk for a fee of €14million.
The performances and the stats suggest it was a good deal: 8 goals and 7 assists in 38 official games, 4 goals and 4 assists in the last 8 in Serie A alone, two of those goals coming yesterday in the 6-2 derby win against Brescia.
Now the Ukrainian, who earns €1m net per season until 2024, is worth at least double the price paid last summer, which means he could go down in the ‘regret’ column for Milan’s market team.
He is not a fullback. He is an attacking midfielder.