Sampdoria could soon kickstart talks with Milan over fringe defender Matteo Gabbia’s temporary switch to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. La Repubblica, via Calciomercato, claims the Blucerchiati head coach Marco Giampaolo wants to make 22-year-old his defensive mainstay next term.
After helping Sampdoria avoid relegation from Serie A last season, Giampaolo now looks to strengthen his squad. A leaky 2021/22 campaign saw La Samp concede an average of 1.65 goals per league match, keeping just seven clean sheets in 38 games.
Veteran Japanese centre-back Maya Yoshida is well past his prime, leaving highly-rated Omar Colley as Giampaolo’s only reliable defensive option. Gabbia reportedly first the profile to become a new central defender at Sampdoria.
He is still young and has ample room for improvement. Fierce competition for places at Milan restricted the youngster to a mere eight Serie A appearances last season. Despite his limited playing time at San Siro, Gabbia rarely failed to impress when called into action.
Milan are reportedly open to letting their out-of-favour defender move on to gain experience and regular first-team football. Therefore, a potential temporary switch to Sampdoria could be on the cards in the coming months.
Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer and Pierre Kalulu will compete for places at the Rossoneri next term. In addition to Gabbia, Alessio Romagnoli could also hit the road in the summer.
After extension talks between the parties fell apart, the long-serving Milan captain could join Lazio as a free agent. Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Sevilla are also in the race to sign the outgoing Italian defender.