To everyone's surprise, Milan completed the signing of Diego Moreira in recent days, with the Rossoneri reaching an agreement with Strasbourg for the 2004-born winger for a total fee of more than €50 million. The young Belgian will immediately be available to Ruben Amorim, who has already called him up for the first official match of the season away to Torino.
Moreira's name had never been linked with Milan in recent weeks.
In fact, with hindsight, it was Moreira himself who had already associated his name with the Rossoneri club. At the beginning of August, the winger posted a photo on social media of himself wearing his close friend Alexis Saelemaekers' Milan shirt while training. The image went almost unnoticed at the time, but it now takes on an entirely different meaning.
Milan's number 56 certainly played an important role in convincing Moreira to say yes to the Rossoneri. After all, whenever he has had the opportunity, Saelemaekers has spoken highly of him publicly as well. He did so, for example, on January 30 when speaking to Corriere dello Sport, naming Moreira among the most interesting young Belgian talents currently emerging:
"There are some very interesting Belgian youngsters making a name for themselves around Europe. I'll give you a few names. Diego Moreira of Strasbourg is doing very well and he is only 21 years old, Zeno Debast of Sporting, a very strong centre-back who is good at bringing the ball out from the back, Onana of Aston Villa, physically dominant, a leader on the pitch," as relayed via Milan News.
Saelemaekers' presence will certainly help Diego settle into the Rossoneri dressing room as quickly as possible. On the pitch, however, Moreira knows exactly what he needs to do to win over the Diavolo.
