This afternoon, Strahinja Pavlovic is expected at Casa Milan to sign the contract that will officially make him a new AC Milan player, and he has chosen his shirt number.
According to MilanNews, the Serbian defender – who will arrive on a permanent basis from Salzburg and pen a long-term deal – has decided to wear the number 31 shirt. After the previous comparisons with Jaap Stam this might well be a nod to the Dutchman, given he wore the same number at Milan.
The list of players who have worn 31 is as follows: Marco Pellegrino, Mattia Caldara, Luca Antonelli, Zan Benedicic, Flavio Roma, Digao, Jaap Stam, Ibrahim Ba, Claiton, Lorenzo Rossetti, Giorgio Frezzolini, Mirco Gasparetto, Vincenzo Maiolo, Patrick Vieira.
The 23-year-old will not join the team in the USA but will remain at Milanello awaiting their return from the tour, scheduled for either Thursday 8 or Friday 9 August. There, he will begin working under the orders of Paulo Fonseca ahead of the new season.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport reported this morning, Pavlovic will sign a contract that will tie him to Milan for the next five years at around €1.5m net per season, while Milan will pay €18m as a fixed fee to Red Bull Salzburg and €2m in potential bonuses.