Javi Guerra is one of AC Milan’s targets for the midfield, with the management viewing him as an ideal Tijjani Reijnders replacement.
Guerra is currently at the U21 European Championship with Spain, where he has started two of the three games, against Slovakia and Romania (he came on as a substitute against Italy). Meanwhile, he already has 89 appearances for Valencia.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan have watched him closely and now have ‘the conviction of making him the new Reijnders’. An initial offer of €18m plus €4m in bonuses was sent as a basis on which to build negotiations later on, given Valencia will ask for at least €25m.
Guerra is at present the first option for the role of becoming the ‘new Tijjani’, that is, a quality and goal-scoring midfielder who replaces the Dutchman in ball management and in the goal column.
The comparison
Reijnders arrived from AZ Alkmaar for €20m plus bonuses – more or less the figures that are currently budgeted for Guerra – with two more years and a less brilliant career up to that point.
Tijjani had not yet left the Netherlands, not one of the most competitive European leagues, and had never been in the U21 national team. He will return to the Oranje, but only after having shone with Milan.
Guerra, on the other hand, is coming off two seasons as a protagonist in LaLiga: a goal in his debut season, four in his first real year as a starter and three in the one just ended. The count can grow at San Siro.
In him, Milan have identified the ‘raider’ of the midfield, the youngster that the experienced Granit Xhaka and Luka Modric will be able to send towards the opposition goal. The vision is Xhaka at the base, Modric as a box-to-box player and Guerra given the license to roam forward.
If the first two can bring experience, the Spaniard perfectly reflects the club’s strategy: focus on young players and build a high-level technical coefficient. Guerra is not a gamble: he has already demonstrated his qualities and Valencia are ready to cash in.
This is also because the negotiations for the renewal have not taken off in the meantime. Javi’s contract expires in two years, summer 2027, and the talks for the extension seem to have stopped. A detail that plays in Milan’s favour.
A tough negotiation
Relations with Valencia are good, thanks to the channel opened two summers ago with Yunus Musah: even then the handshake was reached without too much tension. By the way, Musah could play a part again even after the transfer to Napoli fell through, by being sold to bring in funds.
Other avenues could open up for him, perhaps in the Premier League, a championship that can enhance his undeniable qualities of strength and dynamism. Provided that Allegri, evaluating him at the start of the training camp, does not decide that Yunus should remain.
In the meantime, everything on Guerra: once his sporting commitments are concluded (tomorrow Spain face England in the quarter-finals of the U21 Euros; the final is scheduled for the 28th of the month) the transfer market game will also be able to get going.
Milan are ready for an investment of €20m+ justified by his age and talent. Without a renewal, Valencia will also have to give in to some compromises: around €20-25m, between fixed and variable parts, the deal can be closed. The salary is absolutely within the parameters of the Rossoneri.
Guerra does not exclude Xhaka, on the contrary: the club is focusing on the combination of experienced players and young players to be developed. A line that will also be followed in the other departments.
