While there continues to be a lot of focus on how the AC Milan management plan to strengthen the squad in the summer, they will also have their resolve tested when it comes to keeping star players.
More specifically, Tuttosport (via MilanNews) this morning talks about the three top players in the Milan squad at present who are the target for the biggest European clubs: Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao.
The section they have dedicated to the story is titled: ‘Theo, Maignan and Leao – Attack on the jewels of Milan’. The subtitle then specifies: ‘Bayern are the latest big club to be on the trail of a Rossoneri player: they look for Hernandez, if Davies goes to Real’.
Theo Hernandez is the most talked about player at the moment when it comes to potential big sales for Milan, especially given that Alphonso Davies is expected to leave for Real Madrid leaving Bayern with a hole at left-back and money to spend.
Milan are happy with Theo and vice versa, while the Frenchman is valued at €100m, even if at €80m the management would sit down and negotiate a potential deal with any suitor, not just Bayern.
Despite the talk of interest from abroad, the plan for Geoffrey Moncada and his team is to sit down with both Theo and Maignan to work on contract renewals, evaluating the possibility of offering them similar figures to those given to Rafael Leao last year (€7m net per year, including bonuses).
The most concrete interest in the Portuguese winger meanwhile seems to be from Paris Saint-Germain who will lose Kylian Mbappè on a free. The No.10, however, is protected by a €175m release clause which can only be activated during the first 10 days of July.
Of course the natural instinct for the club and the fans is to want to keep players who are among the best in their position, but huge offers present a dilemma whereby potentially squad-changing amounts of money could come in.
