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.
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.