GdS: Striker and ‘delicate’ renewals – Allegri has mercato meeting with Tare and Furlani

Massimiliano Allegri has remained in constant contact with Igli Tare and Giorgio Furlani, and yesterday there was a meeting to discuss mercato updates.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), the coach was updated on the progress of negotiations for Ardon Jashari and Zachary Athekame, who are both believed to be close to joining.

When training resumes this afternoon at Milanello, the coach will be without either of the two Swiss players, but he will be able to welcome Luka Modric and Santiago Gimenez, who are ready to start working with their team-mates.

No.9 and renewals

Tare will also be at the training centre today to discuss the situation with the coach regarding the next steps. It remains to be seen whether either Jashari or Athekame will be available in time to be called up for the friendlies against Leeds and Chelsea on Saturday and Sunday.

The coach hopes to have them as soon as possible to integrate them into the squad ahead of the Coppa Italia debut on August 17th against Bari, which comes a few days before the Serie A curtain raiser against Cremonese.

Among the moves that will be discussed is the striker, which is missing to complete the squad, although the situation will improve compared to the tour with the arrival of Gimenez, who is certainly more of a No.9 than Rafael Leao, who adapted (well) to the role.

The renewals deserve a separate chapter. Allegri pushed for Mike Maignan to remain at Milan, making sure he kept the captain’s armband despite his contract expiring in 2026. At the end of the window, the goalkeeper’s situation will certainly be addressed, with the hope of an extenstion.

However, negotiations to extend the contracts of Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, Alexis Saelemaekers, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic (for whom the club has an option until 2028) also promise to be delicate.

The idea is to not let them get to 12 months before their contracts expire, especially because they have all played an important role in the team this pre-season.