AC Milan continue to move decisively in the transfer market. The Rossoneri hierarchy does not appear ready to slow down and are looking with interest at another major name: Phil Foden. The Manchester City attacking midfielder is one of the club’s preferred profiles to strengthen the attacking midfield options available to Ruben Amorim.
Amorim assesses the squad: first conclusions after the Celtic friendly
Before making a major move for new signings, Milan are waiting for Ruben Amorim’s evaluations. The Portuguese coach is carefully observing his players during the training camp at Milanello and will begin forming his first opinions after the first pre-season friendly, scheduled for 25 July in Glasgow against Celtic.
That match will provide an opportunity to understand which players fully fit into his tactical plans and which ones could be sold during the summer transfer window. One of Amorim’s requests is the signing of a left-footed attacking midfielder who can operate on the right side of his 3-4-2-1 system.
On the left flank, the coach already has several options, including Christian Pulisic and Christopher Nkunku, as well as Rafael Leão. On the opposite side, however, the alternatives are far more limited. At present, the only natural option in the squad is Samuel Chukwueze, although Amorim is also testing him as a right-sided wing-back, a position where the coach likes to use attacking players with an inverted foot, as he previously did with Amad Diallo during his time at Manchester United.
Phil Foden is Milan’s dream target
According to Tuttosport, Gerry Cardinale would like to give Amorim another top-level signing, and one of the names highlighted in red by the Rossoneri hierarchy is Phil Foden. The English attacking winger, born in 2000, is reportedly not considered an untouchable player in the new Manchester City project under Enzo Maresca and could be available for an offer in the region of €50–60 million.
That is the same amount Milan hope to receive from a potential sale of Rafael Leão. The idea would therefore be to replace the Portuguese forward with Foden, creating a move that the club considers ideal both from a technical and financial perspective.
The cost of the deal and relations with Manchester City
The operation would also be financially manageable in terms of wages. Foden currently earns around €7.5 million net per season at Manchester City, while Milan would be prepared to offer him a slightly lower salary of around €7 million per year, a figure in line with what Rafael Leão and Gonçalo Ramos earn.
At the moment, there is no official negotiation between the two clubs, at least publicly. However, relations between Milan and Manchester City are excellent, as demonstrated by the deal that took Tijjani Reijnders to England twelve months ago. This privileged relationship could help facilitate potential talks if the Rossoneri decide to make a serious move for one of the most talented players in European football.
