AC Milan have now announced the signing of Emerson Royal from Tottenham Hotspur, but it is a deal that was a long time in the making with suggestions that it may never happen.
As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio to Il Giornale (via Milan News), there are a number of reasons why it has taken until the day before Milan’s final pre-season friendly for Emerson to become their latest new signing.
As Di Marzio explains, the broadest reason for the slow negotiation is that both clubs can drive a very hard bargain in the transfer window and do not like to be pushed around.
Daniel Levy is known for being very hard to negotiate with, whilst Milan have become astute at securing good deals for players and are not afraid to walk away if the situation goes beyond their limits.
There was a big gap in valuation between Tottenham and Milan at one stage, but they both stuck with it and have met somewhere in the middle to ensure that the former Barcelona man gets the move that he wants.
Emerson has signed a contract until 2028 with Milan and there will also be an option for him to stay for another year beyond that.
