Since the end of the season, Milan has made official in just a few days the appointments of Igli Tare as the new Sporting Director and Massimiliano Allegri as the new coach, immediately setting two very important key points. Now it is time for the transfer market, between sales, purchases, and a squad that will likely undergo many changes. Milannews.it highlighted all this—with a focus on Reijnders and Theo—with Manuele Baiocchini of Sky Sport.
These are his statements:
What is the situation at Milan regarding the transfer market?
“The situation, from what I understand, is that Milan has certain intentions: there is a desire first to sell and bring in money, and then invest in the market to try to give Allegri a team tailor-made to suit his way of playing football, with the 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 formations he wants to propose at Milan. The meetings that took place today, especially with Theo's agent, were aimed at this: to clearly understand the intentions and reach a solution that can satisfy everyone. What does this mean? Theo, whose contract expires in 2026, would like a new one worth 7–8 million euros: that's a lot of money that Milan cannot and does not want to give him, especially considering Theo’s performance last season, which was not his best. He remains a player of international caliber: a very important offer has arrived from Saudi Arabia, but Theo wants to wait for a big European club. In this meeting between Quilon and Tare, some figures were discussed regarding a possible sale. The common will is not to lose him on a free transfer and to avoid causing economic damage to Milan.”
Theo Hernandez doesn’t seem very convinced by Saudi Arabia:
“The offer came from Al Hilal, the team of Milinkovic-Savic. They’ve made a concrete, serious offer, but I believe Theo wants to wait. We're only at the beginning of the market, and he, quote-unquote, holds the knife by the handle: his contract expires in a year, and in a year he could perhaps ask for even higher figures. Precisely for this reason, Milan, in this phase of the market, wants to understand what the real interest could be from some top European clubs. Perhaps the sale of Theo could, in the end, avoid the sale of other players Milan wants to keep. Not that they don’t want to keep Theo Hernandez, but he has such a difficult contractual situation and such high demands that Milan is making its evaluations. No one in Italy can give you 7–8 million euros, so either you go to Saudi Arabia and get a lot more, or there's the Premier League, Real Madrid, Bayern: those are the clubs that can afford it.”
The Tijjani Reijnders situation:
“There is a very well-advanced situation with Manchester City. From what I know, it’s not done yet, but this afternoon the parties are very close. Milan wants an offer of 70 million, regardless of the bonuses. 70 million to be collected—record capital gain—it would be the most expensive sale in the club’s history. The feeling is that a deal can be reached, but Manchester City has not yet reached the amount that fully satisfies Milan. Maybe they’ll reach it tonight, tomorrow, or in a week: the feeling is that they can.”
Do you think it's right to sell him for 70 million euros considering the figures City usually invests?
“Since he is the most prized asset in Milan’s market, Milan will try to get the maximum. Maybe it won’t be 70, because they realize they can push even further, maybe it’ll be 75 or more. I know that starting from 70 million and up, Milan will consider selling Reijnders. Whether or not it’s right to sell him… You know, when you’re a winning team already at the top and a big offer comes in for a top player, you can afford to keep him. A Milan that’s out of Europe and needs to rebuild—Reijnders’ money, like Tonali’s at the time—can be very useful.”
Is Igli Tare the right person for Milan? Can Allegri revive the team?
“I believe Milan couldn’t have made better choices at this moment. It’s a time when Milan couldn’t go for gambles. You take a 51-year-old Sporting Director who has 15–16 years of high-level football experience behind him. It’s true that Lazio isn’t Milan in terms of prestige and trophies, but the executive relationships are the same, with constant dealings with top clubs. He knows how it’s done and how to work. And above all, he’s a man of the pitch: Milan needed someone present and listened to by the players. Behind this gruff face of Tare is a man of values, with real depth: I believe players can respect such a figure. And for Allegri, the same thing: he has won a lot in his career, he’s also won with Milan, and he knows the environment. At this moment Milan couldn’t go for gambles but had to go for certainties. I think they made good choices to ensure that next season can change and improve. Anyway, it’s hard to do worse…”
