Josip Ilicic had one foot out the door last week, as coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted openly. The Atalanta gaffer excluded him from the squad list to face West Ham for transfer market-related reasons. Milan and Lazio had set their eyes on him to bolster their front-lines with a bargain.
Instead, the parties have reconciled, and Ilicic is now likely to stay, Gianluca di Marzio reports. The manager had a key role in the matter as he told the forward that he wants to keep relying on him. The Slovenian veteran, who had asked out, appreciated the gesture and revised his position.
Ilicic has been with Atalanta since 2017 and has accumulated almost 150 appearances. He is coming off a challenging season as he dealt with mental health issues last Autumn. He still ended up scoring 7 goals and providing 11 assists in 38 matches across all competitions. The surprising turn of events might seal his short-term feature. However, he has only a year left in his contract with the Bergamaschi.
Milan were particularly keen on the 33-year-old as a low-cost replacement for Hakan Calhanoglu. The latest name linked to them for the role is Bordeaux’s Yacine Adli. If they managed to get Alessandro Florenzi on loan, their entire remaining budget would go into signing a new no.10, Sky Sport reports. On top of Ilicic, Atalanta are trying to holding onto another centerpiece. Inter are pursuing Duvan Zapata, but they want €40M to part ways with him this late in the window, L’Eco di Bergamo reports.