After a first part of the summer window dedicated to selling players, AC Milan must now invest in the squad available to Massimiliano Allegri.
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Despite the fact that the transfer window only fully opens in Italy on July 1, there has still been movement due to the Club World CUp window. What stands out above all is the sale of Tijjani Reijnders, made official by Manchester City a couple of weeks ago for a potential club-record fee.
Marco Pellegrino departed on a permanent deal to Boca Juniors, while Juventus used their option to make Pierre Kalulu’s loan in to a permanent stay. There was talk of the sale of Yunus Musah, who is ready to join Antonio Conte at Napoli, but things have gone quieter on that front.
It is quieter, however, when it comes to signings. Luka Modric is believed to be joining on a free, but aside from that there are merely a lot of links, from Granit Xhaka and Javi Guerra to Dusan Vlahovic and Moise Kean.
Sales but no signings
The journalist Pietro Mazzara has published his weekly column for MilanNews and he reflected on what we have seen so far, which is certainly far more on the outgoing front than on the incoming.
The title reads as follows, setting the tone for the piece: ‘Quick to sell, slow to buy: the wait is rising. The resources are there. Theo-Al Hilal: it’s not over. Subscriptions: the truth will be out soon’.
“Names, rumours, voices and leaks. This is what we have been fed in the last two weeks regarding Milan and its incoming transfer market, while the outgoing one has seen the sale of Tijjani Reijnders for figures that, even now, leave people in doubt and turn up their noses,” he began.
“Those 57 million fixed base plus 15 in bonuses, the activation of which is structured based on individual and team objectives, with increasing difficulty based on the figure, are the variable part that cannot be relied upon.
“If Reijnders had been sold for at least 65 million fixed base, perhaps the many bad feelings over a sale that tastes like yet another bitter pill would have been alleviated.
“Now, with the month of June coming to a close and with the accounts put in order by the capital gain of Kalulu and the sale of Pellegrino, in addition to that of Reijnders, it is reasonable to expect a different activism from Milan on the incoming transfer market.
“The first effect of the arrivals of Igli Tare and Max Allegri has now thinned out, the planning at Casa Milan is moving forward but many concrete steps are needed to get the system moving again. And they need to be fast, because it is right that Allegri has the structure of the team as soon as possible.
“There are no other ways to make a group competitive that will suffer yet another shock, with other exit situations that risk creating new problems to manage. This is why the Milan fan gets impatient when he learns of the first low offer for Javi Guerra from Valencia, because they understood the modus operandi and no longer has that desire to wait.
“Especially if there is objective data such as the offer from Atletico Madrid a year ago for 25 million that Valencia refused. The Spaniards also have a 30% to pay to Villarreal for the sale of Guerra, which will increase the request.
“The boy knows that his renewal requests will not be accepted by his club, but we cannot afford to waste time. On him, but also on other objectives.
“Al-Hilal have never given up on Theo Hernandez and the player is now opening up to the possibility of going to Arabia.
“The full-back, who is currently in Sardinia with his family where he is training, has reached the point of no return with Milan and the withdrawal, no longer strategic at this point, of Atletico Madrid puts him in front of an important crossroads: open up to the Arab experience or stay at Milan to see out the contract.
“The first option, until a few days ago, did not warm him up too much but in the last few hours things have changed, with Theo willing to listen to the maxi offer from the Arabs, which should settle at 23-24 million per year for him while Milan would get 30 million of fixed part plus 5 of bonuses. This week could be decisive.”