AC Milan have confirmed that central defender Matteo Gabbia has completed a move to LaLiga side Villarreal on a season-long loan deal.
The move has been talked about for a few days now as discussions likely arose during the separate negotiations between Milan and Villarreal over Samuel Chukwueze, and now the loan deal has been confirmed by both the Rossoneri and the Spaniards.
The 23-year-old will join on a dry loan meaning there is no option or obligation to buy in favour of Villarreal, so Milan will keep control of his future and hope he will get more consistent playing time.
The Lombardy-born player joined Milan’s first team after coming through the youth ranks. After making his debut in 2017 in a Europa League match, he went on loan to Serie C side AS Lucchese in 2018, before returning to the San Siro.
At the age of 23, Gabbia has been capped by the Italian national team at all youth levels, from U15s to U21s, for which he played seven games, two of them at the European Championship.
In Serie A, he has made a total of 37 appearances, accumulating 2,384 minutes of playing time in the top flight of Italian football.
good luck and come back stronger and replace kjaer
Forza Matteo
It will do him good to hopefully play consistently for a full season, make us proud Matteo and come back stronger.
Come back stronger and fight for your place! Forza Matteo!
Now there’s a coach’s face that says “I lost Jackson, Chukwueze, Danjuma and Torres and this is the replacement…”
Any time we moan about losing Tonali, feel a bit sorry for Villareal fans!
Still, amazing opportunity for Gabbia to stake a claim at a true top-half team and get regular game time – time to shine Matteo!
Lol true