AC Milan will soon welcome Divock Origi and Fodè Ballo-Touré back to the club after their loan deals expire, and they hope that they will soon be able to find them new accomodation.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport describes it as ‘two thorny cases to resolve’. Origi scored one goal in 20 games on loan at Nottingham Forest, while Ballo-Touré managed just seven appearances for Fulham, not even reaching 100 minutes in the Premier League.
Neither will be permanently bought as so they will return with two significant salaries: the Belgian earns €4m net per season, the Senegalese €1m. If they had had a top-level season they would have brought at least €10m in transfer fees, but now it will be a challenge just to get rid.
Origi arrived at Milan as a European champion and Premier League winner with Liverpool in 2019 on a free transfer and was meant to be the alternative to Olivier Giroud, yet he managed just a couple of goals in 36 games. One of these was at San Siro, in a 5-2 defeat against Sassuolo.
Ballo-Toure meanwhile is only remembered for that last-minute goal in Empoli 1-3 Milan. In two years he has collected 26 appearances, having been signed in 2021 for around €3m and failing in his mission to become a reliable deputy to Theo Hernandez.
After yet another flop season it will be difficult to sell him and the same goes for Origi, even if the striker has a bigger market. After all, in 2019, he scored two goals in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and another in the final. That player was never seen again.