Moretto responds to idea Milan could have signed Arsenal’s Calafiori: “Never any grounds”

Matteo Moretto has denied that AC Milan were ever seriously in the mix to sign Riccardo Calafiori from Arsenal in the summer.

Going into the summer window there was a lot of speculation about whether Milan might sell to buy in the centre-back department. In the end, Malick Thiaw left for Newcastle United in a deal that could fetch €40m, with Koni De Winter and David Odogu arriving for a combined €30m.

However, in June it was Calafiori’s name that was floating around, albeit tentatively. Carlo Pellegatti spoke about Massimiliano Allegri’s desire to have the Italy international, who can play centre-back or left-back.

Never for sale

Moretto spoke during a video update on his YouTube channel and in addition to giving some background on Milan being close to signing a Real Madrid full-back, he addressed the Calafiori rumours too.

“There was a lot of talk about Calafiori during the summer transfer window, especially with a view to joining AC Milan,” he said (via MilanNews).

“The defender, who has a contract with Arsenal until 2029, was linked with Milan, but in reality the player was never up for sale and never considered leaving the Premier League. Therefore, there were never any grounds for seeing Calafiori leave London.”