AC Milan and Napoli are currently joint league leaders in Serie A as both have 32 points from 10 wins and 2 draws. The Rossoneri are aware that they need to continue like this if they want to compete for the Scudetto.
To keep the squad balanced and competitive, Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara are looking to reward the key players and keep them happy and satisfied.
As per our information, the club is making good progress with Jorge Mendes for the renewal of Rafael Leao. He is seen as a great talent with so much potential. The Portuguese will see his salary adjusted and reach almost 4 million euros.
Theo Hernandez and Ismael Bennacer are other important individuals whom Milan want to lock down with new contracts, even until June 2026. Maldini and Massara are confident and going at this rate, they could even finalise these deals before the start of the new year.
As for Alessio Romagnoli, the captain of the Rossoneri, he is willing to stay with Milan. The 26-year-old Italian does not prioritise a move abroad because he thinks he can fight for his own spot and carve out some important space for himself within Pioli's squad. But, he currently earns around 6 million euros per season. The club absolutely does not want to renew at these figures and they could propose around 3 million euros in the new offer. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also on the club's agenda and there are plans to renew his contract by one more season.
Stefano Pioli's renewal with the Rossoneri is basically a done deal. Almost all details have been ironed out, now it is up to the higher management and Ivan Gazidis to complete the deal which may even be 3-year contract. In fact, the CEO of the Rossoneri will soon put all his attention to the renewals and make an acceleration to protect the interest of the club in keeping their key elements, including Pioli and his players.
The Franck Kessié saga...
Franck Kessié, however, is a nightmare for the club directors. Maldini and Massara do want to keep the player and have even submitted a salary of 6 million euros per season which was rejected by the agent. Kessié and his entourage want much more than that but the directors do believe that they have done their best and cannot offer more. The former Atalanta midfielder's future is not with AC Milan, unless he has a sudden change of heart and decide to lower his financial demands. PSG, on the other hand, are keen to sign him as they are willing to give him a big salary.
For Kessié, Il Diavolo club could consider letting him go in January but, there are two conditions for that to happen: Milan must secure his replacement in January and a convincing offer must also arrive. The idea is that Kessié may stay and leave for free at the end of the season because the club sees his importance in Pioli's system and they want to take advantage of his talent and professionalism in helping the team achieve their goals in Serie A. At this point, there is not really any rush to sell.
AC Milan are following multiple names here are the 2 most topical ones for now...
The potential heirs of the Rossonero number 79 who are being studied are really many, some them are Boubacar Kamara from Marseille whose contract expires at the end of the current season and Renato Sanches of Lille whose deal expires in 2023. For both these midfielders, there is an important market. For example, Kamara is liked by Juventus and West Ham while Renato Sanches is wanted by Wolverhampton, Arsenal and even Liverpool. The Portuguese midfielder's pricetag is somewhere between 30 and 35 million euros. Milan, if they decide to sign him, will rely on their excellent relationships with Lille and the player's agent (Jorge Mendes) while also counting on the player's will who can imagine himself wearing the red and black shirt. The feeling is that Lille may drop their pricetag within the next few months.
Another appreciated profile is Aurélien Tchouameni. He has been monitored and added to the shortlist, but there has not really been anything concrete since then. The French talent of Monaco is courted by many big and major European clubs and his pricetag may be too high for now. He is not the top target currently.
There has been also some reports about Yacine Adli's return to Milan in January. But, at the moment, this hypothesis does not hold any weight. The agreement with Bordeaux is that Yacine Adli finishes his journey with the French club as they do not want to lose him before then. Milan scouts and data analysts continue to follow Yacine closely and consistently, then they send reports to the chief of scouts regarding his abilities, attributes, numbers and performances in order to assess his qualities and improvement throughout the season with the management.
Romain Faivre was also heavily talked about lately, and regardless of his interesting recent interview, Maldini and Massara do not prioritise a move for him. Until now, and since the latest failed negotiations, there have not really been any talks between Milan and Brest for that matter.
Sign Kamara and Faivre pls! Both bargains with huge upside. Forza Milan!