AZ Alkmaar star Tijjani Reijnders has already said no to Barcelona because he wants to complete a move to AC Milan this summer, a report claims.
According to this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), Reijnders has provided a very promising signal in the last 24 hours regarding just how much he wants to pull on the red and black shirt.
Barcelona knocked on the door, but the midfielder let it be known that he will not get on any plane to Spain because he only wants to join Milan, thus taking another step towards the club that he is convinced represent the right next step.
Reijnders knows that a leading role in Stefano Pioli’s plans awaits and that is why the project immediately seduced him. He has even agreed terms over a five-year contract worth around €1.7m net per season.
However, the deal is not closed yet, because one last decisive piece is missing: to convince AZ Alkmaar to let their jewel go for a sum of around €20m, ideally a bit less.
The management have been negotiating with their counterparts for days and they will continue to negotiate to try to close in a relatively short time. The start of preseason on 10 July is around the corner and Pioli wants to work with a new midfield.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the first reinforcement for the department as he joined from Chelsea a week ago and will wear the No.8 shirt that Sandro Tonali vacated.
A first offer of €16m plus bonuses was sent for Reijnders which was not enough for the Eredivisie club who want €25m. It is possible that an agreement is found halfway between, at around €20m with bonuses and a resale percentage.
Milan are preparing to welcome the 24-year-old, boosted by the player’s total willingness to move and the fact he is so convinced of becoming a part of the Rossoneri’s plans.
Reijnders is able to play practically anywhere. He can play like Ismael Bennacer in a 4-2-3-1 system, or as both a deeper-lying playmaker and as a box-to-box midfielder in the event Pioli moves more concretely to a 4-3-3.
He could even be used as an atypical attacking midfielder like Bennacer did in the second half of the last season (and Kessie in the year of the Scudetto win).
