Milan, Origi is a coincidence: the agent does not bring offers and the salary weighs

The “ghosts” of Milan have no faces – on the club’s official website, where their names in the squad do not correspond to a photo – nor slots in the official lists: in Bologna, in the first championship match, the names of Caldara, Ballo-Touré, Saelemakers and Origi were not among the 24 players brought to Dall’Ara by Stefano Pioli. The coach then clarified the concept in front of the microphones in the press room: “I think we need to let some more players out. I want happy, available guys: I don’t want disgruntled people who know from Tuesday that they won’t play on Sunday”. Pioli’s words correspond to the facts: Milan have put them all on the market, even if finding a way out is proving to be more complicated than previously thought.

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The toughest puzzle is also the most expensive one, because Divock Origi earns 4 million a season (about 5.2 gross for the club) but the figure clashes with his technical situation. The salary of the Belgian, to understand, is the same as that received by Hernandez, Bennacer, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Chukwueze but there is no place for Origi in the Rossoneri project: a bankruptcy season, ended by the former Liverpool player with two goals in 36 appearances, it was enough for Milan to put him at the door. The point is that, after a proposal from Arabia rejected by the Belgian, no more offers have arrived on the Rossoneri table, including that of the Premier League where Origi spent six years of his career and where he would like to return: the flirtation with West Ham he never got to the heart and Sheffield United, interested in the player on paper, never showed up with the Rossoneri managers. In such a context, the company would hope for a side game with the player’s agent, in order to find a solution that makes everyone happy, but that hasn’t happened so far.

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For Saelemaekers and Ballo-Touré the situation changes: the suitors are there, but for now they don’t place the lunge. Betis has made contact with Saelemaekers, closed by Pulisic and Chukwueze on the right and determined to start again elsewhere: player and club have reached an agreement in principle, but a purchase proposal from the Spaniards is needed, which has not yet arrived. Milan expects to get a figure close to 10 million. Werder Bremen has come forward for Ballo-Touré, but there is no agreement with the Rossoneri on the formula: the Germans are pushing for a loan deal, while Milan would like a permanent transfer. Verona has taken information about Caldara, but what discourages the Venetians is the signing of the centre-back who returned from his loan to Spezia: 2.2 million per season is not a small amount.