CM: From Svilar to Saelemaekers – the crossed paths in Milan and Roma’s mercato axis

AC Milan and Roma will face each other on the field at San Siro on Sunday, while away from the pitch they are no strangers to negotiations.

As Calciomercato.com report, there are some players from both teams who could have played the match tonight with their kits swapped, players who were targeted by one club or the other and for one reason or another did not make the switch.

The Dovbyk-Gimenez swap was a recent idea that was never fully explored, though it could be revived in January. It’s not the only possible market axis that was spoken about between the two clubs, however.

Svilar, De Winter and more

Mile Svilar, for example, could have been Milan’s goalkeeper if Maignan had left in the summer. The Giallorossi’s number one was the player the Rossoneri most wanted in the event of the Frenchman leaving for Chelsea in June.

The answer from Roma: Svilar is unsellable. The Giallorossi had no intention of losing their starting goalkeeper, who has always given priority to his current club, and they got him to renew until 2030 with a pay rise to €3.5m net per year.

Photos by Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images and AC Milan

Before Milan requested Svilar from Roma, the Giallorossi had their eye on Koni De Winter, who was still at Genoa at the time. The Belgian defender had just finished a good season with the Rossoblu, and Gian Piero Gasperini highlighted him as a target for the defence.

After the sale of Malick Thiaw, Milan had the need to sign another centre-back and the liquidity to do so. Despite links with Giovanni Leoni and Pietro Comuzzo, the Belgian was considered the best profile in terms of quality/cost ratio, signing for €20m.

Milan and Roma sat down to discuss Alexis Saelemaekers, too. The wing-back was coming off a positive season with the capital club, where he’d been on loan in a swap deal with Tammy Abraham.

Roma were willing to offer another player in exchange for the permanent signing of Saelemaekers, but it was Allegri who asked the club not to sell him, and now there are negotiations ongoing over a renewal.

Finally, Lorenzo Pellegrini’s contract is expiring and likely won’t be renewed, with Milan among the teams to watch in terms of those maybe interesting in the free transfers.