Ahead of the game between Venezia and AC Milan this afternoon, Rossoneri sporting director Ricky Massara spoke about several topics, including the mercato. After all, there have been many rumours lately.
Milan are in the hunt for a centre-back due to Simon Kjaer’s injury and several names have been linked with them. One of them is Sven Botman and during his interview with Sky (via MilanNews), Massara talked about the Dutchman and other things.
On the January transfer market…
“Our priority, after Kjaer’s injury, is a central defender. If there is an opportunity to strengthen ourselves, we will be ready.”
On Botman…
“He is an excellent player, but I don’t think Lille want to sell him now. There are many names on the table, the transfer market is still long.”
On the names for the defence…
“There are many possibilities to evaluate, this is an uncertain period also from an economic point of view and therefore we must be very careful. All possibilities must be evaluated.”
On Leao…
“He has a lot of room for growth. He is a crystalline talent, he has matured a lot in recent months, now he has a continuity that he did not have before. He will have a great future. We want to build the Milan of the future on him and on other players. We are also talking to his agent about the renewal.”
On the possible arrival of an attacker…
“We have to monitor this area of the pitch for the future, but not immediately. We also have Pellegri in whom we believe a lot.”
On the work of the club…
“The club always comes first, Milan are above everything. We don’t want to be moral, we make choices based on our needs. We want to be competitive in a sustainable way. We have to pursue this policy.”
Earlier today, it was reported that Andrea Conti is just one step away from joining Sampdoria six-month loan. The idea seems to be that he will then sign for the Genoa side on a free transfer. Either way, Massara confirmed the move.
“It is being defined, it could close tomorrow,” he stated.
Matteo Gabbia and Pierre Kalaulu will be the starting centre-backs today and Milan will be happy to welcome back Fikayo Tomori and Alessio Romagnoli soon. However, as Massara stated, it’s clear that a centre-back signing is the priority.
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