GdS: Milan begin Svilar pursuit after accepting Chelsea’s €18m bid for Maignan

Mike Maignan is expected to join Chelsea next week and as such, AC Milan are working on bringing in a successor. According to a report, they have put Roma’s Mile Svilar at the top of their wish list. 

As reported by today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), barring any surprises, Maignan will say goodbye and join Chelsea. Milan, meanwhile, have identified Svilar as the perfect replacement and could shortly start the negotiations with Roma.

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Renewal disagreement turns to €18m exit

For Maignan, the move to Chelsea has become a matter of days, perhaps even hours. The English side want to add him to the squad before the Club World Cup, which means they have until 8 pm on Tuesday to do so (that’s when the transfer window closes).

After tough negotiations, Milan have finally given in and it’s largely down to the Frenchman’s desire to leave the club. Between today and tomorrow, the final details for the transfer will be ironed out, with the Rossoneri set to bank around €18m from it all (less than what they initially wanted).

Chelsea tried to include counterparts in the deal, from Djordje Petrovic to Kepa Arrizabalaga, but Milan rejected the idea immediately. Then the usual arm-wrestling begain in the negotiations, with Chelsea coming up to €18m after initially offering €15m.

For the Milan fans, it’s a very disappointing outcome, especially when you consider there was an agreement for his renewal at €5m per season until 2029. Then the Rossoneri decided to go back on their word by not moving forward with the renewal, which angered the goalkeeper.

Maignan’s successor emerges immediately

Milan have wasted no time in terms of finding Maignan’s replacement, having monitored several players in the last few months given the renewal uncertainty. Indeed, their No.1 target for the position is Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

The Belgian-Serbian has a contract with the Giallorossi until 2027 and a salary of around €1m per season. The club had offered him double to renew the contract, but Svilar rejected the offer whilst making a request for €4m per season.

Milan have now stepped him, ready to offer a salary slightly higher than €3m per season, but the issue will be reaching an agreement with Roma. The latter have started with a price tag of €30m, which is too high for the Rossoneri.

Alexis Saelemaekers, as such, could be the key in the negotiations as Roma would like to keep the Milan loanee. Max Allegri appreciates the versatile Belgian and would like to keep him, but things could change if he’s needed to secure Svilar’s arrival.

Milan’s alternatives to Svilar

Of course, Milan also have alternatives. In fact, a meeting is planned at Casa Milan this week to take stock of the goalkeeper situation. Afterwards, the assault on Svilar, the No.1 on the list, will most likely begin.

The other names on the wish list are Zion Suzuki, a young talent of Parma, as well as Elia Caprile, who was just redeemed by Cagliari.