On Monday, Strahinja Pavlovic signed his contract extension, which was officially announced yesterday, on the day of his return to Salzburg. It has been an emotional few hours for Pavlovic, who is now tied to Milan until 2031, with an option for another season.
The Serbian defender spoke at a press conference and did not hide his delight:
"Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world," he said, "and I wanted to continue wearing this shirt to win trophies. That is my main objective, and I will always give 100%. I promise that to the fans, to whom I feel very close."
Pavlovic, who spent two seasons at Salzburg before joining Milan in 2024, joked about his position:
"I jokingly offered to play as a striker during the Gentleman Awards ceremony, but before the coach puts me there, I have to prove that I can play up front (smiles, ed.). In reality, I want to make myself useful in defence and perhaps score when I go forward.
"My experience at Salzburg? I'm happy to be back here, where I proved so much, and it will be an emotional match for me."
The team arrived in Austria yesterday afternoon on a charter flight and will not return to Milan until tomorrow, as relayed via La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Chukwueze is also part of the travelling squad, although he was rested during yesterday's final training session due to slight muscle fatigue.
He will start on the bench today, with Hutchinson playing on the right in a 4-4-1-1 formation that could shift into a 3-4-2-1, with the Englishman operating along the entire flank and Loftus-Cheek and Cisse forming the pair behind Camarda.
In midfield, Adrien Rabiot is favoured over Luka Modric to partner Ardon Jashari. As for Fikayo Tomori, who had been among the players cast aside and put on the transfer market during the summer, will make his first appearance of the season: he is set to start today.
