Giovanni Leoni has ended up at the top of AC Milan’s wish list, and with the potential sale of Malick Thiaw to Newcastle, they would have the funds to beat Inter to the punch.
At the start of the summer, the arrival of a new centre-back seemed almost certain. After the pre-season friendlies, however, the situation has changed slightly as Max Allegri was very pleased with the performances of Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic.
As evidenced by the rejected Newcastle offer for Thiaw, Milan will only sell one of their centre-backs at the right price, meaning well over €30m. If a sale were to materialise, though, they already have the replacement in mind.
According to today’s edition of Corriere dello Sport (via Calciomercato.com), Milan are keeping a close eye on Parma’s Giovanni Leoni, who is also on Inter’s wish list. The youngster has a starting price tag of €35m and Liverpool are also involved, so the Rossoneri would definitely need a sale first.
As the newspaper continues, Thiaw could be the key to the deal as Newcastle are very keen on securing his services. They are willing to offer him a salary of €4m per year, compared to the current €800k, and they also have Champions League football going for them.
The first offer of €30m was rejected, as mentioned, but Milan could sell the German international if the next offer amounts to €40m. In terms of the replacement, the plan B to Leoni is Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo, who has been on the Rossoneri’s radar for quite some time.
