Ligue 1 transfer expert Jonathan Johnson has claimed that Mike Maignan is of interest to a number of clubs in view of the summer window, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
It didn’t go unnoticed by anyone that the 2023-24 season was far from perfect for Maignan. He may have avoided serious injuries but he still missed nine games, yet the main issue was without a doubt the performance level.
Milan must be convinced regarding a renewal too, because Maignan is likely to command a big pay rise to extend. Indeed, as we reported earlier in the week, the Rossoneri are now seriously considering parting ways with the goalkeeper and a clear plan has been drafted.
Now, Jonathan Johnson has provided his take on Maignan’s Milan future in CaughtOffside’s Daily Briefing. He confirmed that some top teams around Europe want him, and he might return to his old club.
“AC Milan and France goalkeeper Mike Maignan is a player of interest to a number of top European clubs at the moment,” he said.
“There have been some links with Manchester City as a potential replacement for Ederson, while my understanding is that PSG have also been looking at his situation potentially with a view to bringing him back at some point in the future.
“There are big questions about Gianluigi Donnarumma in terms of whether he’s really the right fit for Luis Enrique’s style of play, and there is an expectation that PSG will complete one of their first signings of the summer with Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov to provide competition for Donnarumma. It will be interesting to see, if that does get completed, what that might mean for Donnarumma for the long term.
“I certainly think a move for someone like Maignan would be interesting as well because it might then mean PSG are tempted to consider offers for Donnarumma, who might then be an option to replace Ederson at Man City.
“He might not be the best fit for Pep Guardiola, but then there are questions about his future as well, and where he sees himself, and PSG have historically had an interest in Bernardo Silva as well, so perhaps there’s a deal to be done there.
“City, of course, have a very talented backup goalkeeper in Stefan Ortega, so it’s probably a situation where Maignan would want guarantees that he’d be the first choice and undisputed starter, especially as he’s now number one for Les Bleus as well.
“So I think that would be a prerequisite before any club comes in, and given that he’s one of Milan’s top players, it’s difficult to see them not asking for a significant transfer fee in the region of €50m, given that he’s one of the top talents on the goalkeeping market.
“It’s an interesting story, and one to keep an eye on, but it’s not necessarily one I’m convinced will end up leading to Maignan joining City.”
Leader. One of the best goalkeepers in the world. Keep him.
Yeah he has been injured too much since he’s here. Like most of the team. Just find someone to keep our players safe.
Meanwhile Juventus is closing a deal for Di Gregorio despite Liverpool’s big interest. Seems like Inter and Juve can actually fight with EPL top clubs.
In terms of prestige, yes. Inter, Juve and Milan can fight with top EPL clubs. But not in terms of Money.
The report is from Tuttosport, which is not exactly most reliable, but even the report state that Liverpool offer more money and financial condition.
But at Liverpool he will playing second fiddle to Allisson who is one of the best in the world… At least for couple of seasons. Maybe that’s the reason, or reluctance to leave Italy, which is common.
That’s because Juventus and Inter have proper directors. That said, I’ll believe Di Gregorio to Juventus when I see the official communication, because they have a big earner in Szczesny to move on. Juventus isn’t exactly swimming in cash and I don’t think they’d accept having Szczesny collecting a huge wage from the bench.
I will surprise if di gregorio want to become allison vice in liverpool. Of course he will choose juve that promise him 1st GK ( after selling or release wojo ) . Inter i think dont have budget to compete for EPL club, they will find free transfer player or loan player, yes they are brave giving lautaro 9m euro nett + bonus 1m euro and barella 7,5m euro nett + bonus 500k euro . Lautaro will get 10m euro nett at inter while ACM highest salary 7m euro nett on leao. Selling maignan will also unlock theo renewal and helping getting new GK + fofana or other DMF
Inter is not thinking “selling X will unlock X renewal”. They extend Barella AND Lautaro. We have a lot more money than them since we are not in debt so stop being cheap with world class players coveted by top clubs and just give them more. Théo’s current salary is a lack of respect…
Sell. Then hijack De Gregorio from Juve. Im sure Galiani will want to help Milan.
do not pay a keeper 9mio salary, would destroy a lot in this club. What theo should than asking for? 16mio? Sell him asap, give theo the 9mio, it will take us more then 5years to replace theo
Mike to PSG, in return they give Milan money + Donnarruma 😂
I literally don’t understand how Mike became known as on of the best in the world. Anyone who saw enough games this season could spot his deficiencies as a shot stopper. He didn’t have that many blunders in his first season with us, but even then I didn’t see anything really out of the ordinary. Most overhyped player on the squad. And if he’s a leader in the locker room, that’s even another reason to sell seeing how mentaly weak we were the for large parts of last season
I completely disagree with you my friend. Goalkeeper is the most difficult position to play and it’s really difficult to be consistent. If your teammates don’t do their job, you’re exposed. The same way our defense has been exposed by our midfield.
His first season with us was so excellent that he was praised as a big contributor to the Scudetto. Just watch Dollarumma at PSG, he’s bad and he got them eliminated of UCL with stupid mistakes several times, including this year when he’s stuck on his line on corners despite being 2m tall or not long ago when he tried to dribble Benzema and lost the ball… Maignan brings confidence to the defense, they don’t have to play with the sense of urgency, they know they can rely on him to pass the ball.
Overall I think you just fail to see what Deschamps, Giroud, Pioli, Maldini, among others, and seemingly people at Manchester City and PSG see in him.
Well, we can agree to disagree mate.
For me, good shot stopping is mostly positioning, athleticism, and reflexes. Letting in goals in your near post (which Mike has done at least three times only this season) shows bad positioning and also lack of concentration. And that’s just one example out of several where he let relatively easy shots in this season. In fact, I don’t recall any milan gk letting in so many easy shots in recent years, apart from Tatarechiano. You mention Dollaruma, but he was way more solid in goal at Milan (don’t follow psg much). And it’s not like Mike is better at collecting corners. He also shares the blame of our terrible set pieces record.
Mike is phenomenal with his feet (for a gk), and probably will fit well with Pep or any team that has 70% possession in an average game. But look how well Onana (another “ball playing” gk) is doing at Man U. I do agree however that many of the current crop of top gks lack consistency. Compare Mike (who you argue is one of the best in the world) to, say, Oliver Khan or Buffon. Can their shot stopping abilities even be compared? Or has the standard for great gk just dramatically drop in recent years.
And his supposed “leadership abilities”… how can a team with one of the most disorganized defenses in the league claim their gk has leadership abilities? Sorry, but I just don’t buy the hype.