The main news of the last 24 hours can only be the much-anticipated arrival of Gerry Cardinale at Milanello, where he will take stock of the situation and try to "unlock" Milan’s transfer market, both in terms of incoming and outgoing deals.
Amorim’s outcasts: Milan step up efforts to reshape the squad
After a month of working with the squad, Ruben Amorim has drawn up his infamous list of players who have failed to convince him. Everyone on that list is considered firmly outside the Rossoneri project and has been strongly encouraged to find a new club. The names include Fikayo Tomori, David Odogu, Youssouf Fofana and Christopher Nkunku, while the situations of Filippo Terracciano, Pervis Estupiñán and Santiago Gimenez also remain worth monitoring.
There are obviously several players who remain out of Amorim’s plans. The mercato team, guided by Gerry Cardinale, has a lot of work to do until the end of the transfer window. As for the AC Milan fans, however, some do like to avoid the transfer drama and relax by choosing to play online slots and possibly strike gold while at it while waiting for the official season to kick off.
Speaking of the transfer market window, Benfica tried to make a move for Tomori in recent days, while there has also been interest from the Premier League. Nottingham Forest are interested in Fofana, but so far it has gone no further than an initial enquiry. Odogu is wanted on loan by Mainz and Anderlecht, but neither deal is close to being completed. With Nkunku, it remains to be seen whether Roma will come back in for him, while talks are ongoing with Porto regarding Gimenez, although there is still no agreement over the structure of the deal.
In fact, Fikayo Tomori's contract expires in 2027, meaning Milan do not have particularly strong negotiating power when it comes to determining his transfer fee. Santiago Gimenez is frequently injured, has not scored for almost a year in general, and needs to be sold for more than €20 million to avoid making a capital loss.
As for ex Chelsea player Christopher Nkunku, the minimum fee would have to reach as much as €30 million, as pointed out by the latest reports.
Milan face difficult negotiations with the transfer deadline approaching
These are difficult, complex and delicate operations, all of which need to be completed with the start of the season fast approaching and the transfer window closing on 1 September.
But what possible advantage can AC Milan gain by publicly announcing that a player is not part of the coach’s plans and no longer belongs to the project? They are all strong and concrete bargaining points that potential buyers can exploit to drive the price down significantly during negotiations.
Ultimately, it will be the facts that provide the answer. But as things stand, there are two possibilities: either there are already well-advanced negotiations that only need to be formally finalised, or Cardinale’s Milan have just scored yet another own goal, in terms of media management, sporting strategy and organisation.
Which of the two is it? There are just over two weeks left until the transfer window closes, so it will not take long to find out.
