AC Milan have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Flamengo over the permanent signing of Emerson Royal.
It had been reported this week that the 26-year-old was set for an initial loan switch to Besiktas with an option to buy included in the agreement between the two clubs.
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However, as per Fabrizio Romano, that move has now been hijacked by Flamengo, who have reached an agreement with the Rossoneri to sign the Brazilian defender on a permanent basis in a deal worth €9m.
Given Emerson isn’t likely to have a role to play under Massimiliano Allegri in his rebuild, securing a permanent deal is a brilliant bit of business from Milan as it gets his wages off our books immediately and gives us additional funds to continue to bring in reinforcements better suited to Allegri’s ideas.
Having seen his move to Besiktas collapse, it’s hoped that this deal doesn’t follow a similar path, but it undoubtedly suits all parties to get it over the line with Milan expected to look for a new right-back this summer to add more quality to that department.
Emerson arrived from Tottenham in August 2024 and went on to make just 26 appearances for Milan, and having failed to entirely convince, it seems as though Allegri is keen to move in a different direction and offload the Brazilian right-back while we have the chance to do so this summer.
Milan still have a number of options available to play in that position and so it remains to be seen if we ultimately stick with them or move for a new solution, but Emerson’s expected departure will no doubt help us by making space in the squad and providing further financial flexibility.
It’s been a fascinating summer already from a Milan perspective with the signings of Samuele Ricci, Luka Modric and Pervis Estupinan, while the likes of Theo Hernandez, Tijjani Reijnders and Pierre Kalulu have moved on.
With the new season rapidly approaching, we’ll soon find out if our rebuild has the makings of being a successful fresh strategy from the club after a bitterly disappointing campaign last time out.
