The main emphasis of AC Milan’s summer transfer window continues to be how they will restructure their midfield department after Sandro Tonali’s €80m sale.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes that Tonali will be heading to Newcastle United and Ismael Bennacer will be out until at least November after his knee injury while in January he could then participate in the African Cup with Algeria.
That leaves Milan with a midfield that needs rebuilding, and it started with Ruben Loftus-Cheek who joined on a four-year contract earlier in the week as the first notable summer signing.
Now, the Milan management want to follow the signing of the Englishman by adding Yunus Musah and Tijjani Rejinders for a more well-rounded department that has physicality but also athleticism and dynamism.
The mission for Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada is to make Milan an aggressive, vertical and fast team, both in midfield and on the flanks. Once the €80m guaranteed from the sale of Tonali has been cashed in, they will have the funds to reshape the squad.
Musah is a versatile talent that Pioli could shape according to team needs. At the age of 20 he already has three seasons behind him from over thirty appearances (a total of 108 games at Valencia).
He combines power and technique, but because of this Valencia do not want to go below the valuation of €25m. Milan, strengthened by the agreement they have with the player, aim to close for less.
The distance is not unbridgeable and contacts could happen to close the deal for the USA international next week. The majority of the transfer market budget will go to midfield as per the paper, which is where Reijnders comes in.
He can play in the middle of a midfield trio or as part of a double pivot, while the Dutchman has agreed terms with Milan over a contract worth €1.7m net per season, but AZ Alkmaar want €25-30m to sell while the offer is €18-20m.
A decisive week awaits for Reijnders too in understanding if the parties will be able to reach an agreement and if bonuses, as often happens, will be decisive. The player’s agent will facilitate contacts between the clubs, expected from Monday onwards.
Davide Frattesi continues to be the subject of intrigue too, even if Milan would have to ‘proceed at speed on a winding road’ because of the competition from Inter, who have been on pole for some time.
The Rossoneri will try a possible acceleration during the week and could also attempt to include Tommaso Pobega in the deal, as a partial counterpart, because Frattesi’s valuation is considered too high by Milan.
