A Milan emissary was in London on Tuesday to discuss two Arsenal players: Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior. The Rossoneri are eager to shore up their defense, which has been too lax in the last few campaigns.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Il Messaggero), Theo Hernandez isn’t in the club’s plans. He has rejected a move to Al-Hilal, and he’ll be frozen out if he doesn’t leave. He’s pushing to join Atletico Madrid.
Milan added Zinchenko to their shortlist of replacements at left-back, while Kiwior would be an option should there be departures in the middle. The Ukrainian international has a modest price tag, about €15M, but he pockets €5M annually. He’d have to accept a pay cut to transfer to San Siro. The other candidates, Destiny Udogie and Andrea Cambiaso, are more expensive. Maxim De Cuyper has been on their radar for months.
Among the Rossoneri center-backs, Malick Thiaw is generating the most interest. Bayer Leverkusen are tracking him, but he has a €30M valuation. Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic have some suitors in the Premier League. The former is more likely to leave.
Igli Tare is also examining some youngsters, Pietro Comuzzo and Giovanni Leoni, and veterans like Berat Djimsiti and Niklas Sule.
It’s good to have clarity on Theo Hernandez, although the saga will have more chapters. The former is the most approachable among the rumored substitutes, but they might ultimately go for somebody purely defensive-minded. Many teams tried and failed to bring the Pole back to Italy. Their defense would be fine without exits and if everybody played up to their potential, but it has rarely been the case.
