AC Milan will soon begin negotiations with Arsenal over the potential signing of Riccardo Calafiori, according to Carlo Pellegatti.
It is no secret that the defence must be fixed by Igli Tare and Massimiliano Allegri this summer, given that in the last three league seasons Milan have conceded 40 goals or more, which is too many to fight for the top objectives.
Moreover, it is well known that Allegri likes to focus on solidity with his teams too. In the eleven seasons in which he was at Milan or Juventus from start to finish, the coach never conceded more than 39 goals in Serie A.
According to Carlo Pellegatti, a well-known journalist, Milan will soon be in London to try to negotiate over two Arsenal players. He gave an update on his YouTube channel, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“A mission of Rossoneri emissaries is planned in London, at Arsenal’s home. Arsenal have two players that Milan consider important to start strengthening the defence again. Let’s start from the left wing, where Theo Hernandez should be sold, his place could be taken by Zinchenko.
“He was born in ’96, he was taken at 20 years old by Manchester City, who then sent him for a year to PSV. In 2021 his five-year contract ended and he went to Arsenal.
“A left-sided player: he doesn’t score many goals, but he is consistent, present, has good physicality, pays attention to the defensive phase and can be an important solution for Milan who therefore start from the defence because the defence has been a weak point in recent years.
“While Massimiliano Allegri has made the defence one of his strengths and believes that it is there that we need to improve. The cost of Zinchenko is within 20 million: given that we are now a rich club after the sales, 20 million can be given very willingly for Zinchenko.
“But the coup for this planned mission of Rossoneri emissaries to the home of the Gunners is another, it is Riccardo Calafiori. A player born in 2002, a player who started on the left wing and is an excellent centre-back, transformed by a great job by Thiago Motta.
“He established himself at Basel, then went to Bologna where he played a sumptuous season. He had some muscular problems during his months at Arsenal. A classy player, a player that in my opinion Massimiliano Allegri would love to have in his ranks. He has a good footwork.
“Massimiliano Allegri did not want to give up Maignan because of his footwork. Calafiori is ideal for the build-up, for the elegance. You will say to me: ‘But Milan will spend 50 million for Calafiori?’. First of all, the value has already dropped to 40, which is still a high figure.
“From my information, Milan would be looking for a loan with option. Then there are the Arsenal directors who will make their assessments. We need to understand how much Arsenal still considers Calafiori fundamental to their future projects.
“However, this planned mission to London could be a harbinger of the first important purchases: Calafiori would be the first important petal of a squad that we hope will become very fragrant.”
