AC Milan continue to not lose hope in their pursuit of German midfielder Assan Ouedraogo. However, to secure the 17-year-old talent from Bundesliga club Schalke, who has been on Moncada and D'Ottavio's list for a year and a half, they'll have to beat fierce competition.
In fact, Inter, Leipzig, and especially Bayern Munich, who in the last few days have taken the first step to try to outpace the competition: as reported by Sky Deutschland, sports director Christoph Freund met with Schalke to reiterate interest and try to initiate negotiations. Bayern considers him a priority for 2024 and is ready to pay the 12 million euros release clause.
12 million euros is the cost for all clubs playing in a UEFA competition in 2024-25; for all others, it's 7 million euros. But it's ready to rise to 20 million euros if Assan Ouedraogo is called up by Germany's national team.
Certainly, whoever snatches him from Schalke, with whom he is tied to a contract expiring in 2027, must guarantee him playing time, a winning project, and must wait until June.
Schalke, which will only see him again at the beginning of the new year (currently sidelined due to a right ankle ligament injury suffered with the German U17 team), does not intend to sell him in January.
They need him to try to return to the Bundesliga, a distant goal as of now, as relayed by CalcioMercato.com.
