Juventus have stepped up their efforts to sign AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on a free transfer this summer, according to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri.
The 22-year-old is a product of Milan’s academy, but his current contract with the Rossoneri is set to expire in three months’ time. Being represented by the notorious ‘superagent’ Mino Raiola, he certainly expects an extremely lucrative offer if he is to sign a new one before the end of the season. The clock is ticking, and things have apparently just gotten much worse for Milan.
Writing for portal tuttomercatoweb.com, Palmeri explains that Raiola pointed to reported interest from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus for his client’s services, but the club weren’t taking such claims very seriously without a concrete offer from either to be seen.
Now, however, a concrete offer has arrived from Juventus. It is expected that club legend Gianluigi Buffon will retire this summer, being 43 years old, and the Old Lady will need proper competition for 30-year-old Wojciech Szczesny, as well as a high-quality prospect for the future. Donnarumma obviously ticks all the right boxes, quite apart from being available for free.
But if he does move to Turin, it’s likely to prove costly for Juventus nonetheless. They will have to agree to pay him very high wages, a significant sign-on fee, as well as a substantial agent fee to Raiola himself.
Meanwhile, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano says Milan are still ‘confident’ of the young shot-stopper signing a new deal, despite making no progress in the ongoing negotiations as of yet.
