Milan market, eyes on the'former Inter target

The Mike Maignan issue continues to hold sway at AC Milan: the French goalkeeper has a contract expiring at the end of the season and negotiations for renewal have yet to yield anything. Months ago Giorgio Furlani met with the former Lille fullback’s entourage but the goalkeeper&#8217s demands were considered exaggerated by the Rossoneri CEO and talks broke down. Chelsea tried to take advantage of this but the Diavolo put up the wall and Maignan remained in Milan.

Ernesto Villa

Given, however, that the goalkeeper&#8217s future remains in the balance, the Milan management is also considering alternative solutions so as not to be found unprepared should Maignan decide to leave the club. Among the various profiles probed by the Rossoneri is that of Bento, who has long been approached by Inter in the past soccer market sessions. The Brazilian goalkeeper in 2024 left Athletico Paranaense to move to Al Nassr but is not fully satisfied with the choice and would like to land in Europe.

If Bento were to explicitly ask for a transfer to Al Nassr, the sheikhs would be practically forced to accommodate him and Milan could get the champion at a bargain price. However, there are ongoing reflections: not all of the Diavolo executives are convinced that they want to entrust the goal to a footballer who has played in Saudi Arabia in recent years. There is no shortage of alternative solutions: on Milan’s list is also the name of Alisson, who has a contract with Liverpool until 2027.

Next season Arne Slot would like to give more space to Giorgi Mamardashvili: the Georgian was bought from the English champions for 30 million euros and he will be the one defending the Reds’ goal for the next few years. Alisson could therefore be excluded from the club’s plans: the Brazilian goalkeeper has received offers from Saudi Arabia and the United States but is determined to consider offers exclusively from European clubs. There will, however, be the age issue to consider: the Brazilian extreme defender in October blew out 33 candles.

The Milan management has also sounded out Diogo Costa, who has a contract with Porto until 2027. If he does not sign the renewal by next summer, the Portuguese club would be forced to sell him off to avoid losing him for zero in 2027. Igli Tare is monitoring the situation with great interest since we are talking about a top-notch extreme defender, among the best in the world.

According to the specialized website Transfermarkt, Diogo Costa is the second most valuable goalkeeper in the world with 40 million euros in value (on par with Lucas Chevalier of Paris Saint Germain and Gregor Kobel of Borussia Dortmund), above him there is only Gianluigi Donnarumma, from this’year at Manchester City, at 45 million euros.