AC Milan made an attempt to try and sign Reiss Nelson from Arsenal on a free transfer before he decided to renew, it has been revealed.
There were some doubts about Nelson’s future heading into the summer given that he struggled to get consistent playing time last season under Mikel Arteta with his contract entering the final few months.
In his CaughtOffside column today, Fabrizio Romano revealed that there were a lot of teams keen on the 23-year-old with Milan and Brighton among the teams who expressed an interest in landing him.
Ultimately it was Arteta that played a key role in convincing him to stay, as well as the possibility of playing in the Champions League at the team he came through the academy of.
“The good news continues for Arsenal as Reiss Nelson has signed his new four-year contract to commit his future to the club,” Romano said.
“I’ve spoken about other clubs also being interested in Nelson and I can reveal here that AC Milan, Brighton and also one French club were the teams who explored this possibility.
“There was really strong interest in Nelson but he decided to stay, he loves Arsenal and he’s happy to play Champions League football next season. This was an important factor, including his conversations with Mikel Arteta.”
Nelson only made 11 Premier League appearances in 2022-23 for a total of 202 minutes, meaning most were off the bench. However, he scored three goals and added two assists in that time, therefore averaging a goal contribution roughly every 40 minutes.
nobody wanted and god bless we dodge the bullet
Well, we had a player who loved Milan, but Cardinale kicked him out.
You mean Georgio couldn’t convince this kid?? Shocking!!!! LOL.