Ardon Jashari has made it clear that he wants to join only AC Milan, sources have told TEAMtalk, as Manchester United suffer a blow in their pursuit of the Club Brugge midfielder.
Jashari is one of the finest young midfielders in Europe and was brilliant for Club Brugge last season. The 22-year-old midfielder scored four goals and registered six assists in 52 appearances, as Blauw-Zwart won the Belgian Pro League title. Jashari won the Belgian Pro League Player of the Year award and was also named the Belgian Young Player of the Year for the 2024/25 campaign.
TEAMtalk reported on June 24 interest from Man Utd, AC Milan and AS Roma in Jashari.
Man Utd were planning a bid for the Switzerland international midfielder, having taken a close look at the youngster.
However, the Premier League club have suffered a blow in their pursuit of the midfielder, who has made his intentions clear: as long as talks between AC Milan and Club Brugge continue, he will not consider any other offers, even if they are financially better.
Sources have told TEAMtalk that Jashari has already agreed on personal terms with the Rossoneri and is fully focused on joining the Italian club.
Milan remain confident that their latest proposal, worth over €35million (£30.2m, $41.3m) including bonuses, with some adjustments, can convince Club Brugge to accept.
However, the Belgian club are still asking for a deal structured as €35m (£30.2m, $41.3m) plus add-ons, with around €3m (£2.6m, $3.5m) still separating the two sides on the fixed fee.
The gap is now narrow, and both clubs are expected to continue talks over the coming days.
Small adjustments in the fixed amount and performance-related bonuses will likely be key to reaching a final agreement.
Jashari is considered Milan’s top target to strengthen the midfield, after the complicated pursuits of Luka Modric and Samuele Ricci, who will sign his contract with the Serie A giants on Thursday.
Milan see the Jashari as a long-term investment and are hopeful they can close the deal soon.
The midfielder’s full commitment to Milan is giving the Italian side confidence in completing the transfer.
Primarily a defensive midfielder, Jashari has impressed enough during his debut season at Club Brugge that they updated his contract halfway through it. He signed a contract until 2028 upon his arrival – which saw his former club Luzern receive a club-record fee for a sale of €6m – but by January, he had been tied down until 2029.
It was a reward for his initial impact in Belgian football and an acknowledgement that Jashari will be attracting interest from other clubs in the not-too-distant future.
Born in 2002, Jashari originally broke through from Luzern’s academy in July 2020. But it was in the 2021-22 season when he actually started to become a first-team regular, and from the following season he was frequently captaining the side.
By September 2022, Jashari was earning his first senior cap for Switzerland, who later picked him in their World Cup and Euro 2024 squads. He is yet to add to the two caps he earned in 2022, but his progress implies that might change soon.
Since joining Club Brugge, Jashari has taken his first steps in the Champions League, starting 11 of their 12 games until their elimination by Aston Villa in the round of 16.
Jashari tends to sit in front of the backline and spray defence-splitting passes around. Left-footed, he has been tipped by some to become a successor to Granit Xhaka for the Swiss national team.
Possessing good strength, Jashari can carry the ball confidently but his ability in picking out diagonal passes from the middle of the park is what makes him most dangerous.
He achieved double figures of goal contributions in his final season at Luzern and looks on course to do something similar during his first at Club Brugge.
With decent aggression off the ball too, he has the potential to transition into a box-to-box role, but for now seems well suited in his deep-lying playmaker role.
