AC Milan have reportedly reached an agreement with Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan as they set Gianluigi Donnarumma an ultimatum on his contract renewal.
Donnarumma’s current contract is set to expire this summer, and so time is running out to agree to new terms and extend his stay at the club.
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While the priority for all concerned right now is qualification for the Champions League, it remains to be seen if that is ultimately what is holding up a new deal, but Milan can’t afford to wait for that outcome and risk losing our first-choice goalkeeper for nothing with no back-up plan.
According to Calciomercato, Milan have reached an agreement with Maignan on a five-year contract worth around €3m-a-year, while a deal is said to also be close with Lille worth €15m+.
Maignan, 25, has conceded 37 goals in 44 games so far this season, keeping 20 clean sheets, with Lille currently top of the table in Ligue 1.
However, it’s added that the priority for Milan remains agreeing on a renewal with Donnarumma. That said, they will not increase their offer of €8m-a-year, and Paolo Maldini is said to be waiting for an answer in the next 20 days otherwise the Rossoneri will move forward with their plan to sign Maignan.
It’s arguably the most sensible strategy from a Milan perspective, as we simply can’t afford to lose Donnarumma this summer and not have a contingency plan in place to fill that void immediately with a top-class option.
Naturally, the hope is that we qualify for the Champions League and a new agreement is reached such is the quality and attachment to the club that the Italian international possesses.
Nevertheless, Maignan has proven his class in France and so if it’s down to dropping out of the top four or simply being unable to agree on financial terms with Donnarumma, the Rossoneri are right to line up a replacement and perhaps even put pressure on Gigio to accept the offer on the table or risk seeing us move on.
