Another wonderful display from Milan protégé Gianluigi Donnarumma ensured his team took all three points from last night’s huge clash with Juventus. The rossoneri are aware however, that the rest of Europe is watching their supremely talented 17-year-old goalkeeper and very soon the door to a contract renewal will be opened.
 

Last summer, Adriano Galliani has sought an agreement with the player’s agent, Mino Raiola, to remove any possibility of a kidnapping from a rival club. Because of Donnarumma’s age however, he was only allowed to extend his current deal for 12 months due to the fact that he will not be 18 until February 2017. It was believed that two contracts would be drafted up; a junior one then another that could start from the day he turned 18. It was decided to wait until February and with the new Chinese owners due to take full control next month, the process of completing a five-year extension is waiting.  

The worry for the rossoneri is that Donnarumma is able to leave Milanello from January 2018 on a free-transfer. There are already top clubs waiting to table offers to both Milan and Raiola with rumours circulating that the super-agent has been advised to prevent his client from extending his stay at the club where he has grown up. Milan has no intention of letting this happen and the optimism on Friday of Galliani when he declared that Donnarumma would sign a new deal when he reached adulthood is a mark of gratitude for his outstanding contribution since breaking into the first-team. The imminent arrival of new CEO Fassone and Sporting Director Mirabelli should only serve to speed up the negotiations because Milan are aware that precious talent like this may only come along once in a lifetime.

By Fabrizio Romano. Adapted & translated by Steve Mitchell