As speculation continues to link Mike Maignan with an exit from AC Milan this summer, candidates to replace him have started to be linked with the club.
The Rossoneri are expected to have a busy summer with speculation rife over outgoings and incomings, as we begin to rebuild the squad following the appointment of Massimiliano Allegri as our new coach.
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He’ll want to build a group suited to his preferred system and style of play, while the club will need to make crucial decisions amid interest from elsewhere and expiring contracts for some key individuals.
One of them is Maignan, who has 12 months remaining on his current deal, and continues to be heavily linked with a move to Chelsea.
It would certainly be a blow to lose the 29-year-old French shot-stopper as he has been a decisive figure for us for the most part since arriving in 2021, and there will be a glaring void left behind if he does indeed depart in the coming weeks.
According to MilanNews, there are six potential goalkeepers on the Rossoneri’s transfer shortlist, with Mile Svilar and Marco Carnesecchi of Roma and Atalanta respectively, considered to be the the top candidates to replace Maignan if he leaves.
Torino’s Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Elia Caprile of Napoli, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier and Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga are all explicitly mentioned as being potential options, and so it will be interesting to see who Milan believe to be the ideal candidate to fill that possible void and whether or not a deal can be done to bring them in.
While it’s not yet official that Maignan will be moving on, the club need to be prepared if that eventually plays out, as with other exits expected this month, Allegri will want to move quickly to mould the squad into his own ahead of the players returning for pre-season training at the start of July.
On one hand it all looks a bit chaotic and it could be destabilising for the club as we enter a new cycle. Conversely, it could be exactly what we need after such a disappointing campaign where so much went wrong and the environment was so negative for much of the year, and so it’s hoped that Allegri, in conjunction with sporting director Igli Tare, will get our recruitment right this summer to ensure we raise the level of the squad and become more competitive.
