Yesterday’s summit to try to close: at the Platense also a percentage on the resale. It would be deal number 9 of the AC Milan summer
The litmus test arrives for Milan: many new signings that Pioli will have to put together. Marco Pellegrino, 21, central defender, should soon be added to the long list of summer hits. If in the last two seasons the coach started with the advantage of technical continuity (his team had the same suit sewn on while the other greats redid their look) this year the task is more difficult: assemble the new pieces, find solidity and aim for the top in the league and also in Europe. Pellegrino will be able to help raise the defensive wall, which has fallen too many times even during the last luxury friendlies.
the details
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The last brick is among the least heavy: Pellegrino would cost around five million euros, Atletico Platense also a percentage of any future resale. Milan had been tracking the player for days: yesterday he arrived one step away from the finish line after the meeting in the city between the managers of the Rossoneri sports area and the president of the Argentine club, Sebastian Ordonez. Sampdoria surpassed in speed, first to send an official offer to South America. The Platense management was also convinced that initially they wanted to renew his contract expiring at the end of 2024: they understood that keeping him could become counterproductive. Pellegrino would thus be added to the list of Rossoneri central defenders, reduced by one after Gabbia’s departure: the owners (on paper) are Tomori and Thiaw, in their first real season as defense minister. Behind them Kjaer, to be managed, and Kalulu, also used as a right full-back. Having abandoned the Lenglet track, central to experience, Milan chose to go for a more prospective player: Pellegrino, born in 2002, grew up in the Platense youth sector, which he joined at the age of 8. Last March he made his first-team debut and has since added another sixteen appearances and one goal. It was launched by Martin Palermo: former Boca center forward and Argentina national team. As a striker, he sensed his marking skills, aided by his physique (1.84m). Excellent reports from the Rossoneri scouts, which later materialized into a real offer. In the coming days, but not before the weekend, the negotiation will be able to enter the final stage. In the event of no agreement, there are plenty of alternatives: Koluierakis, a Greek from Paok, and another road (still unknown) which would lead back to Holland…
history
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Top-level sport was in his destiny, even if… on another field. At 13, Pellegrino was a baby prodigy of tennis, also the star of a television report. «For six years I have cultivated both passions. I was playing soccer one day, tennis the next. I went around playing tournaments, winning often and willingly. But at a certain point the workouts began to overlap and I had to choose. I didn’t think about it for a second, I wanted to be a footballer. Because football is my first love.” In his first year among the greats he also made Milan fall in love with him.
the attack
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Pellegrino (or whoever) won’t be the last deal on the Rossoneri summer transfer market: the club will go from defense to attack again. The probable loan out of Lorenzo Colombo (Monza first hypothesis) will raise the purchase count to ten: Broja, Chelsea’s tip, is on pole.