AC Milan could let two players leave during the January transfer window in order to make room for potential additions, according to a report.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that three players who are not getting playing time at the moment could depart the club when the market reopened: Yacine Adli, Fode Ballo-Touré and Tiemoué Bakayoko.
Milan are targeting some additions to make the squad better like Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech and Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, but they know that space must first be made and that is why Adli, Ballo-Touré and/or Bakayoko can leave.
Both the full-back and the two midfielders have had their moments where they have felt on top of the world, with Bakayoko the first to show his quality under Gennaro Gattuso back in 2018-19, but the management could not sanction the €35m needed to buy him permanently and he has struggled on his loan return.
Milan are currently paying €2.5m net for Bakayoko’s salary, equal to almost €5m gross, so finding new accommodation for the Frenchman would alleviate the wage bill and allow the money to be diverted somewhere more useful.
At least €5m could come from the sale of Ballo-Touré, the deputy of Theo Hernandez who made fans go wild with his injury time winner against Empoli earlier this season. He is still struggling for minutes, so the World Cup in Qatar could act as a showcase to find him a new club.
It was love at first sight between Adli and the fans this summer as he showed his dribbling, first touch and confidence in the preseason friendlies, but Pioli has given the 22-year-old Franco-Algerian playmaker just one start and 114 minutes in total.
Last year Milan bought him from Bordeaux for €10m but left him on loan there, but now a new six-month loan in Serie A or in Europe could help him, while creating space for an arrival like Aouar.
