For different reasons, Mohamad Simakan and Otavio will not join Milan this summer despite their previous interest. The defender has been officially acquired by RB Leipzig from Strasbourg, while the attacking midfielder has extended his contract with Porto.
The Rossoneri pursued Simakan in January, but he suffered a knee injury right as they were closing in on the deal. The 20-year-old center-back, who has yet to return on the pitch after surgery, has been acquired by the German side for €15M and will take Dayot Upamecano’s place.
The management wanted to have an immediate reinforcement and switched their attention to Fikayo Tomori, adding him on loan from Chelsea. The club is seriously considering buying him out at the end of the season, but they could ask for a discount on the €28M fee, Calciomercato.com reports.
Otavio was recently said to be in advanced talks with Milan on a free transfer as his contract was previously set to expire in June. However, he accepted the offer of his current side and his new deal runs through 2025. He stated after putting pen-to-paper: “I am very happy, I always wanted to stay. I feel at home here in this country and in this team. I have been welcomed very well, it is a dream come true. I will continue to play with the same passion as always in order to chase more titles.”
In the same role, the Rossoneri are keeping tabs on Florian Thauvin, whose contract with Olympique Marseille is currently up in the summer, and recently added Nikola Vlasic to the list of potential targets for the summer.