The summer transfer window was a strange on for Milan. Desperate to off-load players to finance their own transfer kitty, the rossoneri were then bought by a Chinese consortium but they were too late to have any influence on the summer window. January will be different however, and one name already reserved for the new year is Dutch winger Anwar El Ghazi of Ajax.
 

Thanks to good relations with the player’s agents, Milan has already blocked off the 21-year-old to add some much needed pace to their wide areas. Shortly after his arrival, new coach Vincenzo Montella had already identified the need for someone with this attribute and after both Cuadrado and Januzaj opted to go elsewhere, the 21-year-old became the primary target. Ajax are asking for €17-18 million for the player, Milan are hoping they can close the deal for €14-15 million.  

So what happened? Because Milan have Niang and Suso who can play out wide, so their priority was a midfielder with Pasalic arriving this summer and Bentancur still on the radar for next year. El Ghazi’s profile is one that pleases the new Chinese owners and that could ultimately decide which direction to take in the new year. In the meantime, Milan scouts will continue to follow the Dutchman in the weeks and months ahead, despatching ongoing reports back to Italy before the winter market opens for business.


By Fabrizio Romano. Adapted and translated by Steve Mitchell