AC Milan and Como are progressing rapidly in talks over a double deal that would see Alvaro Morata and Malick Thiaw move to the lake.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning that Como and Milan had been in contact for days to discuss the future of Morata, but in the meantime they have also found an agreement in principle over Thiaw. All of this in an operation worth over €40m.
This must be added to the €57m collected from the sale of Reijnders to City (with bonuses it rises to €72m), the €14m from the permanent signing of Kalulu by Juventus, the €3.5m from the sale of Pellegrino to Boca Juniors, while waiting for the other €25m arriving for Theo from Al-Hilal.
The total, even if the deals that are not yet official were to materialise, is €141m. The exits may not end here: the Musah to Napoli idea remains alive, even if the American is also reportedly interested by Nottingham Forest. Chukwueze, Okafor and others have their suitcases packed too.
Morata moves again
Let’s start with Morata, who has already said yes to the Lariani, attracted by the possibility of working with his former national teammate, Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish striker, however, is still linked to Galatasaray.
The first formal step, therefore, had to arrive from Istanbul, with the Turkish club needing to agree to waive the last five months remaining on Alvaro’s loan. Milan, in fact, had sent the centre-forward to Gala on loan for 12 months, with the possibility of making the transfer permanent.
To convince the Istanbul club to let him go, Milan proposed not to collect the agreed sum for the months he has already spent there. Why? Simple: they hope to collect much more from Como. As much as €16.5m, in a permanent deal.
Thiaw to join Alvaro?
Milan and Como also have a full agreement over a €25m deal for Thiaw. What’s missing? The central defender’s final response. If, on the one hand, leaving the Rossoneri can be interpreted as a step backwards, on the other hand there is an economically attractive offer: €4m net per year in salary.
The German currently earns less than €1m in Milan. The leap forward, therefore, would be financial. And we must not forget the ambitions of Como, a club in strong growth and controlled by the richest ownership in the entire Serie A.
With the double Morata-Thiaw deal plus the permanent loan signings and the purchase of Rodriguez from Real Betis – plus Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb – they have already broken through the ceiling of €100m in spending in June alone.