This morning’s edition of Il Resto del Carlino reports that the axis between AC Milan and Bologna could become very hot, with three players involved.
Bologna will participate in the Champions League next season and they are planning how to improve the squad after the loss of Thiago Motta. The paper (via Radio Rossonera) talk about Alexis Saelemaekers and Fodé Ballo-Touré in particular.
They state that due to the requested figures and technical characteristics of Saelemaekers, Bologna no longer seems willing to sign the winger permanently from Milan for just over €10m, which is the pre-agreed option to buy figure.
Regarding Ballo-Tourè, they add that the sporting director of the Rossoblu – Giovanni Sartori – wanted him last summer before going for Kristiansen. Given that Fulham will not use their option to buy, he could therefore become a target once again, especially given his deal expires in 2025.
Moreover, Il Resto del Carlino (via MilanNews) speak about the future of Joshua Zirkzee, who is available for €40m which is the price of his release clause. Zirzkee’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, has very high demands as there is talk of at least €15m in commission being requested.
Milan are pushing and the player’s desire is to stay in Italy. Having seen and considered all this, the agent is apparently thinking of granting the Rossoneri a discount on commissions, lowering his demands to below €10m.
Thus, Milan could pay €40m as a transfer fee, offer €4-5m net per year as salary and less than €10m in commissions, which would make the overall package much more affordable than first thought.