Are Milan closing in on a new midfielder?
Sky's Gianluca Di
Marzio is reporting that Milan are close to securing the signature of Udinese
playmaker Piotr Zielinski.
cording
to the uber-reliable Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Sports, Milan are in advanced
talks with Udinese over
the transfer of Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski. Di Marzio also added that the
negotiations started relatively lately, but due to the good relationship
between the Rossoneri and the Zebrette, they have reached
an advanced stage quickly, and there is optimism on both sides that the deal
can be closed sooner than later.
Milan were certainly the
dark horse in the race, as Zielinski has been heavily linked to both Liverpool and Napoli for
months. However, despite trailing in the chase for the young Pole's signature
it appears as though Milan have just edged out their competitors in the end. If
Milan are able to snag Zielinski it will be the second time in this window
where a late push by the Rossoneri allows them to overcome the
odds to secure a player. Earlier in the summer Gianluca Lapadula was heavily
linked with both Napoli andJuventus,
but to everyone's surprise Milan came out of nowhere to beat out their Serie A
rivals and bring the the Serie B Capocannoniere to the San Siro.
Zielinski is coming off of
a very impressive season with Empoli where
he scored 5 goals in 35 Serie A appearances, cementing himself as one of the
peninsula's most promising young midfielders in the process. Zielinski is a
technically gifted midfielder who excels at playing the ball and running at
defences; because of his style Zielinski appears to be a perfect fit for newly
appointed Milan manager Vincenzo Montella's system...
If Milan are able to
secure the highly sought after 21 year old midfielder who already has 83 Serie
A matches under his belt, it would provide quite the boost to the Rossoneri'ssorry midfield.
AC Milan and Juventus
battle again over Genoa wonderkid
A host of clubs in Italy and England are tracking the Rossoblu
youngster, who Rossoblu President Enrico Preziosi has high hopes for
With the fear that they would only receive a nominal fee were he
to move abroad, Genoa are
hoping to spark an auction amongst Italian clubs for their sought-after
15-year-old starlet Pietro Pellegri.
Juventus, AC Milan and Roma have
all been credited with an interest in the teenage forward, who would be
available for a figure in the region of €2 million should he move to a
rival Serie A side.
However, it is believed that Manchester United and Manchester City
of the Premier League are also monitoring the highly-rated talent’s situation,
in light of a clause that allows players from Italian academies to move to
foreign clubs for a nominal fee decided by a FIFA tribunal before the age of
16.
Such an agreement, of course, is of little benefit to Genoa, with
the Stadio Luigi Ferraris outfit hoping that interest from several of Serie A’s
biggest teams would see them make a much greater profit on Pellegri.
Pellegri, an Italian young international, is a technically gifted
striker currently playing two years above his normal age group.
It had been expected that with little to play for on the last day
of the 2015/16 campaign, the 15-year-old would play some part in Genoa’s game
against Atalanta.
Eventually, this didn’t come to pass, however, the Rossoblu’s
President Enrico Preziosi retains extremely high hopes for the teenager.
“We have the new Messi. For the good of Italy, we all hope [he
comes good],” he said.
Juventus are the current favourites to secure Pellegri’s signature
this summer.