AC Milan and the blocked transfer market; Houssem Aouar has many teams around him; Memphis Depay, unprofessional in requests. Here are some of the main stories of the last few days of the transfer market from TribalFootball's transfer expert Rudy Galetti.
Milan, is the market closed?
There are less than 10 days to go to the end of the summer transfer market session and the Italian Champions may have already closed - in advance - their purchases.
As we know, AC Milan in recent years - with the Elliott ownership - have heavily considered every operation and, despite the disappointment of many fans eager to see big expenses and big names, the results - economic and sporting - are proving that the Rossoneri's new strategies do work. For this reason, this season as well, in all likelihood - unless there are unmissable last-minute opportunities - they will no longer sign new players without exits.
Almost certainly AC Milan should not include anyone on the wings: the effort made for Charles De Ketelaere doesn't allow other expenses and the Hakim Ziyech option - very close to returning to Ajax from Chelsea - seems to be only a distant memory. In midfield, Franck Kessie's farewell was replaced with the return from Torino of Tommaso Pobega, but also and above all by Yacine Adli, able to play in all the roles of the midline of the field.
Even with Rade Krunic's injury, the various tracks - more or less truthful - of Raphael Onyedike, Jean Onana and Sander Berge are not so hot. For the defensive zone, AC Milan lost Alessio Romagnoli - who went to Lazio - but the "recovery" of Simon Kjaer, who was out for most of the 2021/22 season due to a knee injury, can be considered a full-fledged a new purchase.
Houssem Aouar, his future is becoming a soap opera
Houssem Aouar is among the most desired players in this transfer market session. However, the Lyon midfielder – whose contract will expire in 2023 and has no chances to be renewed - has not yet found a new squad.
The club that initially has shown interest in Aouar has been Real Betis: the Spanish team has been following the French player for some time and the first talks with Lyon began in mid-July. The negotiation seemed to be going well, with Betis ready to put William Carvalho - a player who was appreciated by the OL - on the table to facilitate the negotiation. Sensations were so positive that a few days later Houssem reached an agreement on personal terms with Los Verdiblancos. But the critical economic situation of the Spanish team and the failure to sell fringe members of the squad, however, slowed down the agreement.
Many Premier League clubs interested in joining have tried to take advantage of it: among these Crystal Palace and, above all, Nottingham Forest which, in recent days, have found an agreement with Lyon for around €15M. However, the player is stalling, also because his former coach Rudi Garcia is trying to persuade him to join "his" Al Nasr. The Saudi club has already made a first offer to Lyon - around 10 million euros - which was immediately rejected. But Rudi Garcia asked the board to make an effort by increasing the bid: and so, it was, with the contacts between the clubs that have resumed in the last few days. The last days of the transfer market will be hot for Aouar's future, and for his soap opera.
Depay asks for more money to accept Juventus
On the 9th of August Memphis Depay said yes to Juventus: full agreement reached on personal terms between the Bianconeri and the Cresta Firm's lawyers - which take care of his interests - on the basis of a 2-year contract with salary set at €5m + bonuses per season. In the following days, the player's entourage continued their work with Barcelona to terminate early the contract, which initially seemed to be just a formality. But not for the Spanish club, which did not facilitate the discussion: so much so that Juventus had to enter directly in the talks between the Dutch player and the Blaugrana, committing to pay - instead of the Spaniards - the severance package to the striker and so giving up some of the bonuses linked to the Miralem Pjanic operation.
In summary: agreement with the player found, agreement with Barcelona reached: therefore, will Depay join Juventus? This is not done yet. The reason is simple: after accepting the initial conditions, the Dutch player - in the last few days - has changed his mind, asking Juve to increase the fixed part of the salary. Negotiations on personal terms, therefore, have started all over again, with the Bianconeri and the Cresta Firm's lawyers working to close this "new" gap. The feelings for the success of the deal remain positive, but the player's behaviour was not exactly professional.
Nobody wants Icardi
Luis Campos has given up on Mauro Icardi: the Argentinian striker is completely out of PSG's plans and the French club would like to get rid of him as soon as possible. As already told, Paris have been trying to sell him definitively for some months already, but no offer has arrived, also due to Maurito's high salary demands. And so, PSG - now resigned - have also opened up to the possibility of a loan, willing to pay even more than 50% of the salary.
But nobody seems to want Icardi: one of the main issues could probably be his wife / agent who - like Rabiot's mother – appeared pretentious and obstinate. And now, again, new opportunities, this time coming from Turkey, are as always shipwrecked: in recent days, Wanda Nara flew to Istanbul to speak with Galatasaray, but nothing significant at the moment. Just tepid interest from the Turkish club, which has as priority to hijack the agreement that Andrea Belotti has with AS Roma. Fenerbahce have also come forward, but Icardi, also in this case, is not a priority: despite the info asked about him, for the attack, Fener are concentrating on Maxi Gomez and Alexander Sörloth negotiations. There is nothing that can be done: nobody wants Icardi.
Skriniar will remain at Inter: no PSG
The end of the Milan Skriniar affair seems to have finally come. Inter president Steven Zhang himself made a point and, by rejecting PSG's latest proposal, virtually removed the centre-back from the market, suggesting that for less than €90 million he won't move. A figure that currently no team in Europe will pay. The Slovak, therefore, will remain in Milan also this season: great news for Simone Inzaghi, who had expressed his discontent regarding the constant rumors about the possible farewells of his players.
But that's not all: Skriniar is ready to put his signature on the contract renewal, with a proposal on the table of €6 million + bonuses that will bind him to Inter until 2027.
With the stay of the Slovakian centre-back, now the Nerazzurri only need one player to replace Andrea Ranocchia, who had changed team. The most affordable one is Francesco Acerbi, with Lazio president Claudio Lotito ready to let him go on loan with option to buy. Under these conditions, he is certainly the closest player to wearing the Inter shirt, but nothing is decided yet.
