Ahead of the summer, AC Milan had been heavily linked with Lazio defender Mario Gila. However, he may not arrive at San Siro.
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Gila’s name has been one of the most frequently mentioned ahead of the mercato’s opening. Direct contacts with Lazio had been made and it seemed that getting a deal over the line would only be a case of when, not if.
Though that no longer seems to be the case.
Gila slips away
According to Daniele Longo on X, since the sacking of Igli Tare in last week’s reshuffle, a deal for Gila has now slowed significantly, opening the door to Napoli. Indeed, Giovanni Manna has taken advantage and is now involved in negotiations.
A deal for around €25-30 million was in the works, so there would be questions about whether the Rossoneri could afford such a deal without Champions League football. Nevertheless, they may no longer be in the lead as they once were.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news, too, strengthening the claim that Milan may be about to lose one of their biggest targets ahead of the summer, as MilanNews relayed.
“Gila’s contract expires in 2027, in a year. Lazio would like to keep Mario Gila at all costs, even at the risk of losing the player for free. Lazio is determined to resist. On the other side is Napoli, who were considering Gila even before changing coach, before Conte notified De Laurentiis.
“For the player, the idea of joining Napoli and playing in the Champions League is a temptation. Max Allegri likes him, and there’s a consensus on Gila. He would need little or nothing to adapt to the Napoli project.
“He’s a name that has a lot of support within Napoli. It’s a name that AC Milan have also been following for a long time, but clearly, with AC Milan, transfer names require a bit of patience: you have to understand the management, the coach.
“The old AC Milan, until a few weeks ago, had been following Mario Gila for a long time but without ever really getting close. Napoli are making their assessments.”