AC Milan are among the teams around Europe casting admiring glances at Lille teenager Jephthé Malanda, a report in France claims.
Footmercato describe Malanda as a ‘rising star from LOSC’s youth academy’, and he is attracting considerable interest from across Europe. Their sources claim Lille have offered the 18-year-old attacking midfielder a professional trainee contract.
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However, the Ligue 1 club will need to be persuasive to retain the Corbeil-Essonnes native and avoid a repeat of the Kingsley Olufade situation. Olufade recently turned down a professional contract from LOSC to sign a deal with Strasbourg.
Regarding Malanda, several clubs are closely monitoring the situation and are ‘ready to make a move’. This includes Milan, Como and Anderlecht. Some top Ligue 1 clubs are also interested, and a decision is expected in the coming days.
The report adds: “Considered by many observers to be one of, if not the greatest, talents of Lille’s 2008 generation, Malanda has scored 12 goals this season.” He played mostly at U19 level, and now seems ready for the next step in his career.
Milan, it must be added, do not currently have an acting management in place. However, given the strong links with Ralf Rangnick and his propensity to bet on youth, it is an acquisition that would probably make a lot of sense in his eyes.
