Matteo Gabbia joined Villarreal on a season-long loan in the summer but is now all set to return to AC Milan, a report claims. The Rossoneri are in the midst of a defensive crisis and need all the reinforcements they can get.
The likes of Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori are all insured and will be out for quite some time. In January, therefore, Milan have no other option but to sign at last one centre-back and it appears they have secured the first one.
According to the journalist Matteo Moretto, Villarreal have given their go-ahead to cutting Gabbia’s season-long loan short. The 24-year-old will thus return to Milan in January and it makes sense for all parties, having made just seven league appearances for the Spanish side.
Stefano Pioli currently has just Simon Kjaer and Jan-Carlo Simic at his disposal, with Milan taking on Sassuolo this Saturday. The Coppa Italia clash against Cagliari will take place just three days later, meaning Gabbia could perhaps be back against Empoli on January 7 instead.
In the meantime, therefore, Simic will continue to get the chance and it must be said that the 18-year-old has impressed. Like most youngsters, though, he needs more time before playing regularly with the first team.
