A year ago these days the rumors of a possible sale of Franck Kessie were more and more widespread. The relationship with Stefano Pioli had not started in a positive way, and the Ivorian’s performance was below his standard. West Ham, as well as Monaco had tried to try Milan, Gattuso’s own Napoli had taken an interest. Then the turning point. With the arrival of Ibrahimovic and the move to 4231 and an increasingly intense dialogue with the coach they have brought Franck Kessie to very high levels of performance. Today Milan is enjoying the strongest median in Italy, because no team has an element of his characteristics in the squad. Dominant under the athletic and competitive aspect, matured tactically, and decisive also in the goal area (the goal in Udine is the example). Everything has changed within a year and now we are thinking of an extension with salary adjustment. Franck Kessie’s contract expires in June 2022 and there are the first signs of the desire to continue together, the Ivorian has become a backbone of Milan, one of the irreplaceable.
Many ask us about the vice-Ibrahimovic, but today the club’s priority is to take on a central defender. The market will always change according to the opportunities and needs in the squad, but the company’s efforts are currently oriented towards another defender. The idea is to support Romagnoli and Kjaer, especially the latter is working overtime, and because at the end of the season they will most likely greet both Musacchio and Duarte. Kabak, Lovato, Simakan but also Milenkovic under certain conditions remain the most followed names. The Fiorentina central continues to refuse the renewal and the Rossoneri are attentive to every slightest movement. But Kabak is, to date, the player in pole position, also considering the economic problems of Schalke. AC Milan had proposed 15 million euros in the summer and in January they will put the same amount on the plate again, perhaps adding some bonuses linked to the Champions League.
In the offensive zone, the situation of Florian Thauvin is monitored with great attention, a story told since last summer on MilanNews and today publicly confirmed both by Maldini and by the player himself. The strategy is to take him on a free transfer in June, so he will hardly leave Marseille in January, but watch out for Castillejo because in the event of a sale Milan could anticipate the investment. It turns out that if attractive offers for Castillejo come in, the club will consider it.
Finally, the renewals. Donnarumma is close to signing, we have been repeating it for weeks, there is less and less for the goalkeeper to sign a renewal until 2024 or 2025. Milan would not want to insert the release clause and work on this. The climate is serene, the player’s will is clear and for the Rossoneri Gigio will be the symbol of Milan at an international level for the next few years. With Raiola from January onwards we will also begin to talk about the renewal of Ibrahimovic, we will get to the heart with the new year.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s extension is more complex. The player is torn, he would like to stay but asks for very high figures, six million euros. So Maldini is trying to make him understand that the request would break the balance in the locker room, but especially in a moment of world crisis for football, requests are out of reach. Milan has settled on 3.5 million and shouldn’t go further. It’s up to Calhanoglu to take a step towards Milan. We’ll see.
–
