Calciomercato.com

How AC Milan can steal top Serie A striker from under Chelsea & Man Utd noses

How AC Milan can steal top Serie A striker from under Chelsea & Man Utd noses

AC Milan are one of the clubs interested in signing Torino star Andrea Belotti who has 27 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions with Torino so far this season. The 23-year-old signed a contract extension with Torino a few months ago and his new agreement with the granata includes a € 100 million release clause that can only be activated by non-Serie A clubs.

Petrachi told reporters yesterday that “Serie A teams will struggle to afford a player like Belotti” and that’s true because nobody (apart from Juventus) can afford to pay € 100 million for a player. Torino, in fact, are not open to sell for less than that.

The Italy star, however, is a huge fan of AC Milan and he has recently revealed that his idol is former AC Milan (and Chelsea) striker Andriy Shevchenko who won the Ballon d’Or when during his time at the San Siro.

Torino President Urbano Cairo wants the striker to remain at the club for one more season but if the player decides to leave at the end of the season, a move to Serie A would be much better than a transfer to the Premier League.

The style of English football is different and Belotti could struggle to adapt to life. With the 2018 World Cup just around the corner, Belotti does not want to waste a chance to take part to his first ever World Cup and that’s why he may consider to join AC Milan in case he leaves Torino at the end of the season.

AC Milan, however, are not going to match the player’s € 100 million release clause but may be open to offer as much as € 50-60 million plus some players Torino are interested in. Juraj Kucka, Andrea Poli, Gianluca Lapadula or even M’Baye Niang could be used to lower the player’s price-tag.

​Yesterday, Petrachi and Pioli also talked about the French winger who is on loan at Watford. The former Genoa star is a long time target of the granata and if the Hornets fail to make his move permanent, AC Milan could include him in a player-plus cash swap deal.

Andrea Distaso, translated and adapted by Lorenzo Bettoni