Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Milan are still in talks regarding the Big Swede’s contract extension with the Rossoneri. The Swedish player is back to his country, and after spending his holidays in Sardinia, would like to know more about his future.
On their side, Milan and their owner Elliot seem convinced to increase their offer up to 6M euros. However, Zlatan’s entourage doesn’t yield and remains firm with their request for 7.5M euros.
While the distance is still considerable, both parts are working to find a win-win agreement. We think that, with a good set of bonuses, Zlatan may extend his stay at Milan. In such a scenario, the Rossoneri will likely push for a scalable solution made of both natural and more challenging targets.
Ibrahimovic rejoined the Rossoneri last December after seven years – scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists out of 20 games played. After some hesitation, due to the club’s uncertain future projects, he seemed willing to extend his contract to 2021, but earlier today he posted a tweet that made quite some noise as it was seen by many as a possible message to Milan:
I was born in the dark pic.twitter.com/ZjlEXL8Nuh
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) August 20, 2020
However, there is much optimism surrounding the negotiations as the 39-year-old has not received offers from any other club. With Milan as the only club expressing interest in Zlatan, the deal will likely be completed soon. The club’s goal is indeed to have him available at Milanello next Monday already as the Rossoneri will start the preseason preparation.
On that note, it is also known that the influential Zlatan expressed a positive opinion about Milan’s transfer market targets Serge Aurier and Timeoué Bakayoko. As previously mentioned, Bakayoko would reportedly be happy to come back to Milan, where he could play alongside Kessie. Tottenham’s Ivorian right-back Aurier, on the other hand, would give Milan more options for the right-back line – where neither Davide Calabria nor Andrea Conti particularly impressed last season.
Nevertheless, while José Mourinho doesn’t seem to be concerned with the possible departure of the 27-year-old, rumors have it that the Spurs are asking for around 20M euros for his transfer. Milan’s proposal sent to London is reportedly around $15M – which could be increased in view of Milan’s need to strengthen their defensive department.
In the last season, Aurier – who joined Spurs from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 – collected 42 caps for Tottenham, servicing 8 assists and scoring 2 goals – including one in Champions League against Greek side Olympiacos. His numbers are also matched by a discrete quality of play.
Still, the defender had a couple of disappointing games with the Spurs – including a quite upsetting performance against Chelsea, in which he made two mistakes that provoked two goals for the Blues. That’s when he began to fall behind in José Mourinho’s ranks.
A move to Milan could thus be a refreshing decision for Serge Aurier and a way to re-boost his career. Just like for Zlatan, both parts are working to cut a deal that would make both sides happy and we can expect to hear something for good or for bad in the very next days.