Youssouf Fofana will soon become an official AC Milan player, undergoing his medical tests this morning, and the fans are very happy with the deal. However, the negotiations took a long time and as a report states, technical director Goeffreo Monacada was decisive.
Having started his career at Monaco as a scout, everyone knew that Moncada was heavily involved in the negotiations over Fofana. However, just how decisive he was has not been entirely understood, but now the picture is clear.
As reported by the reliable Matteo Moretto for the Daily Briefing, Milan worked very hard on the deal from the start but always with a lot of discretion. Their patience never wavered and that was thanks to Fofana’s relationship with Moncada, who wanted to sign the midfielder already at Monaco (when the latter was at Strasbourg).
As such, Fofana and Moncada have known each other for quite some time and have a very good relationship. The 25-year-old said no to inquiries from other clubs and as a result, there were no concrete offers on the table aside from Milan’s.
A contract agreement was reached between Milan and Fofana ‘months ago’, which is a four-year deal with a salary of €3m per season and an option for an additional year. As for the talks with Monaco, Giorgio Furlani worked to get the best deal for the Rossoneri and he succeeded in the end.
The final figure ended up at €23m plus €2m in bonuses, which is a long way from the hefty demands of Monaco at the start of the summer. Fofana’s agents also demand a high commission but in the end, the relationship between Moncada and Fofana was decisive for the deal.
As said, Fofana arrived for his medical tests this morning and tonight, he should be at San Siro.
Of all newcomers, the biggest eyes will clearly be on him. Can he fill the huge hole that Kessie left, only time will tell.
€23 for fofana? What a bargain 🤣
Well, not by the standard of many experts here based on his last year of contract. Lol.
He’s easily a +50 million player so yeah 25 millions was really a bargain. Let’s hope he turns out to be our new Kessie and not Bakayoko.
Top signing. 3 man midfield of fofana Bennacer Reinjders is very strong. I would say on par with Inters + we have Loftus cheek & Musah to call on as well. I hope he adapts immediately.