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  • Milan need to lock down Donnarumma. City, Barcelona are following him

    Milan need to lock down Donnarumma. City, Barcelona are following him

    This afternoon's home draw with Udinese has mostly been a bad one for Milan: beyond the result, the Rossoneri lost M'Baye Niang and Juraj Kucka to injuries, whose gravity needs to be verified in the coming days.
    We've also underlined how Milan's bench is lacking in viable alternatives, especially when a Plan B is needed to wrest a match in the balance,

    But Sinisa Mihajlovic & Co have something to smile about: Gianluigi Donnarumma, who after a quiet afternoon against Palermo pulled off a few more saves worthy of any shtostopper's highlight reel. Though he still makes mistakes (he can be a tad too cocky on the ball) Gigio looks more and more like a long-term solution. Better: agent Mino Raiola was right to point out that he is destined for greatness.

    Even on Pablo Armero's goal, the 17-year-old was able to frustrated first Cyril Thereau, then made a stunning instinctive save to deny Zravdko Kuzmanovic's follow-on, before surrendering to the inevitable tap-in.

    In the second half, on the other hand, he excelled in a one-on-one with Ryder Matos, whose offside position hadn't been spotted by the linesmen. Not content with making another great save, he then launched the counter that led to M'Baye Niang's equalizer.

    The bottom line is that he's nearly 20 years younger than the man he replaced, Diego Lopez, and he's playing as well as the former Real shotstopper was last season, if not better.

    It comes as no surprise, then, to discover that big clubs like Manchester City and Barcelona have sent their scouts to watch him on a number of occasions, and there's even been talk of an offer in excess of 30 million for his services.

    The Rossoneri's plan, in tandem with Raiola, is to sign a long-term contract within a month, when he turns 18. Minors can only sign for a maximum of three, and then renew it on a yearly basis.

    Milan's objective is to make it a hefty one, especially when it comes to the release clause. Milan fans, however, don't want to hear about prices: he's a treasure, and they want him to remain with the club for as long as possible. 


    Federico Albrizio (@Albri_Fede90), translated by @edodalmonte


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