Rijo Sam Daniel
Transfer News: AC Milan eye Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly among other Premier League targets
According to Alessandro Sugoni of Sky Italia (h/t milanlive.it), AC Milan have identified Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly as a transfer target alongside several other Premier League options. He has struggled to earn minutes this season and could be on the way out if all the parties involved in a potential move agree to it.
Milan are looking to bring in additions to replace the injured Simon Kjaer with players who have similar qualities and leadership traits to him. Fikayo Tomori and Alessio Romagnoli have also contracted Covid, meaning they want to sign reinforcements as soon as possible. Sven Botman of Lille seems like an impossible task, prompting the Serie A club to look towards England.
The Italian side wants someone agile, physical and aggressive during duels and has created a shortlist based on it. Nathan Ake from Manchester City, Chelsea’s Malanga Sarr, and Arsenal defender Pablo Marì are the other targets alongside Bailly in the transfer list. The Rossoneri prefer a similar deal to how they brought Tomori from the Blues but there is no information on what Man United’s stance would be on the matter.
Perfect opportunity?
There cannot be many more chances for us to clear the 27-year-old out, so we should try to finalise a deal as soon as possible and earn a handsome fee. It does not help us at all if the defender keeps on earning those wages without much contribution to the team.
The recent resurgence of Phil Jones further makes our decision easier, and the management should address this if there is an official enquiry for the Ivory Coast international. With Jones, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof in the squad, we do not need him for the rest of the season.
An initial loan deal would help us to free our wage bill while simultaneously getting us some loan fee in the process. That’s not all, as we could include an optional buy clause in the contract, which the Milan club could activate if the Ivorian ends up making a name for himself if he moves to San Siro.
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There are some downsides in case the Red Devils star’s transfer gets finalised as we would only have four centre-backs in our team. Ralf Rangnick has utilised a 4-2-2-2 system, which could help us protect the available players in the best way possible. However, looking at the injury struggles and the risk of Covid, we could lose out on them quickly in a worst-case scenario.
Hence, it could be wise not to reduce the squad depth during the season, which could prompt the board not to initiate a move. It remains to be seen how this situation pans out in the coming days as the winter transfer window has already started.
