JUST IN: AC Milan targeting Chelsea key defender on a 4 years contract worth $180m.

 

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that AC Milan were interested in Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile during the January window and addressed rumours that they could try again in the summer.

Badiashile was signed from Monaco by Chelsea in January 2023 for €38m but the 23-year-old has not really hit the ground running, having been one of many players there to battle injury problems.

Reports have suggested that the centre-back could be one of the players that the Blues offload before the start of next season to raise funds both in order to ease their financial pressures and also to free space for more incomings.

Milan were linked with Badiashile multiple times in the build-up to the January window when they were looking to ease their defensive emergency, and then again in February his name was mentioned as an option.

Speaking in his Daily Briefing column, Romano addressed the speculation that Milan may look to try again for the Frenchman.

“We’re again seeing reports of AC Milan targeting Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile. AC Milan were interested in January, but there’s no decision yet on what they will do in the summer,” he said.

“It’s still early for AC Milan summer plans apart from decision already made to bring in a new important striker. Also Chelsea have not made any decision on Badiashile so far. We have to see in the summer for this, nothing is really happening now.

 

 

AC Milan have a concrete interest in signing Rocco Vata from Celtic and are exploring a pre-contract agreement with his entourage, we have learned.

As deals such as the ones for Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw plus more recently Alex Jimenez and Filippo Terracciano show, Milan like to try and get in there early when it comes to securing young talents for the future.

Part of the reason for that is because of their expansive scouting network and the influence of Geoffrey Moncada, while there is of course an economic advantage to getting in before a player explodes and their price tag does the same.

Vata is the son of a former Celtic defender – Rudi Vata – and he has always felt a certain attachment to the Scottish club, with whom he signed his first professional contract with at the age of 16 in July 2021.

Vata has been in the academy since he was seven years old and made the decision to represent Ireland at youth level. He made his way up through the ranks of the academy at Celtic, then joining the B-Team.

Vata went on to make his first-team debut during the 2022-23 season, coming off the bench in a 4-0 win against Hibernian, making his home debut in April 2023 as part of a handful of appearances that campaign.