Reijnders only wants Milan: no to Barça to wear the Rossoneri

The Dutchman found an agreement with the club, but the one with Az is missing. At 20 million it can be closed. And Pulisic is nearby

Marco Fallisi

Tijjani Reijnders made his first assist as an AC Milan player without even setting foot on the pitch: none other than Barcelona knocked on his door in these hours, but he kindly let it be known that he will not get on any plane to Spain. Because in his horizon there is only Milan.

the situation

And so the Dutch Az Alkmaar midfielder takes another step towards the club that targeted him in unsuspecting times: Reijnders knows that in Pioli’s midfielder a leading role awaits him and this is also why the AC Milan project has him immediately seduced. Together, Reijnders and Milan have reached an agreement in principle on salary and duration of the contract: a five-year contract worth around 1.7 million per season is ready on the table. However, the deal is not closed yet, because one last, decisive piece is missing: to convince Az to let their jewel go for a sum of around 20 million, better if a little less. We have been negotiating with the Dutch for days and we will continue to negotiate to try to close in a relatively short time: the meeting on 10 July is around the corner and Stefano Pioli can’t wait to get to work with the new material in between to the field. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the first reinforcement to arrive from Chelsea a week ago, will regularly replace him and will wear Tonali’s 8. Will Reijnders be able to join the company in time?

advantage

A first offer has already started from the Portello offices, we are about 16 million plus bonuses: not enough for the managers of AZ, who started from a valuation closer to 25 million. It is possible that the agreement is halfway through, for a figure of around 20 million, perhaps filing down on bonuses and entering any resale percentages in favor of the Dutch. In short, Milan is preparing for the next move, strengthened by the player’s yes, so convinced of marrying the Rossoneri cause as to discourage the court of another European big like Barcelona, ​​which historically relies heavily on Dutch petrol, as indeed also the Milan of Berlusconi’s golden age. The Rossoneri today have a very precious advantage over the competition, which logically won’t go to waste: the dialogue with Az will have to enter the key phase very soon.

THE IDEAL

Also because Pioli’s priorities are clear: Reijnders is the profile that the coach considers potentially perfect for rebuilding Tonali’s orphaned midfield and he recalled him in the market meeting with the CEO. Furlani and Moncada’s right-hand man from the other day at Casa Milan. The Dutchman, who will celebrate his 25th birthday in July, is popular because he’s able to play practically anywhere: midfielder-builder a la Bennacer in a 4-2-3-1 formation, midfielder in a three-man midfield, or even further forward, as an atypical attacking midfielder like the same Bennacer did in the second half of the last season (and Kessie in the year of the championship). Together with Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah – another goal with which the Rossoneri have an agreement of 2 million per season but must find the right balance with Valencia – he would guarantee physicality to the department, as well as adding verticality to the maneuver.

PULISIC PUSHES

Instead, Christian Pulisic will take care of the imagination, increasingly determined to reach Loftus-Cheek, a former Chelsea teammate as well as Giroud and Tomori: Pioli could exploit his creativity on the right of the attack or on the trocar, and pump cup experience into the Devil’s engine (Pulisic has been attending the Champions League since he was 18). Also in this case the deal is half-finished: Milan have an understanding with the player, willing to cut his salary and earn around 4 million net per season, but must find the one with Chelsea. The 14 million offered to the English correspond to little more than the last amortization fee to be paid by the Blues, who had paid out 64 million euros to snatch the American from Borussia Dortmund in 2019. The Rossoneri proposal would allow Chelsea not to lose out, but not even to gain: the margin is around one million, very little in the eyes of the English who are asking for at least 25 million. Further updates will be needed, and the excellent relations between the two clubs encourage optimism. Something is also moving for Samuel Chukwueze, Villarreal’s Nigerian winger who would not exclude Pulisic: Milan will make a first offer in these hours which will in fact open the negotiation. And it will further freeze the name of Daichi Kamada, released from Eintracht but non-EU like Chukwueze. The Japanese is waiting for a call from Milan, but until when?



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