Milan is finalizing the last details of Tijjani Reijnders' transfer to Manchester City and is close to completing the free-agent signing of Luka Modric. However, these won’t be the only moves in midfield, where Massimiliano Allegri has requested a physical box-to-box midfielder with pace and goal-scoring ability.
One of the first names that comes to mind is certainly Adrien Rabiot, the Marseille midfielder and a favorite of the 57-year-old coach, who was a mainstay in his Juventus side in the past.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, the two are in frequent contact, as the French player himself admitted a few days ago in an interview with the same newspaper. The former Juventus man, who was already on Milan’s radar a few years ago when he left PSG on a free transfer—is under contract with Marseille until June 30, 2026, and would reportedly cost around €10.5 million. The real hurdle, however, is his salary: Rabiot earns €3.5 million per season as a base salary, with easily attainable bonuses pushing it up to about €6 million. Additionally, De Zerbi’s Marseille will be playing in the Champions League next season. Still, a call from Allegri might be enough to convince the Frenchman to return to Italy.
Allegri wants Rabiot at Milan - But there are also alternatives...
Rabiot is, of course, not the only name on Milan's shortlist. Sporting director Igli Tare is also evaluating other profiles, such as Lazio’s Nicolò Rovella (on loan at Lazio from Juventus) and Lazio's Matteo Guendouzi. The former is Italian and therefore also useful for squad registration purposes, while the latter, also French like Rabiot, better fits the mold of a player who can quickly adapt to Allegri’s football, bringing energy, grit, and power to the midfield. Milan’s management is also looking abroad, closely monitoring Club Brugge's Raphael Onyedika, a Nigerian midfielder born in 2001 who plays for Club Brugge. However, he would take up a non-EU slot.
