Serie A transfer news: Milinkovic-Savic close to Al-Hilal, Chelsea wait for Inter's new bid for Romelu Lukaku
The transfer window has started and Italian clubs are already making moves. The Italian league is full of talents that every season attract the interest of multiple European clubs. At the same time, while Serie A clubs try to keep their best players, they also have to improve the rosters to compete outside the country as it happened in the past season, when three Italian sides played the three European finals.
Napoli have announced a new coach after winning the 2022-23 Scudetto, while 2023 Champions League finalist Inter want to keep their best players at the club, including Romelu Lukaku, who returned to Chelsea after the end of the season loan. AC Milan need a striker while they lost Sandro Tonali. Let's go around the country to recap the hottest rumors.
Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic the next to move to Saudi Arabia?
July 11 -- It's all agreed between Lazio and Al-Hilal for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. As Sky Italy reported, the two clubs will now check the documents of the final official bid for the Serbian midfielder, as the Italian club are set to approve the deal if they get a €40 million fixed fee.
July 10 -- CBS Sports soccer writer James Benge is reporting that Al-Hilal offered a three-year contract to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic with an option for an extra twelve months. The Serbian midfielder would get €15 million per season for the next three years.
July 10 -- Al-Hilal have opened talks to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer. Despite the interest coming from Juventus and Inter, the Saudi side approached the Italian club and offered around €40 million as per Sky Italy. The deal now depends on the player, who is still hasn't communicated his decision to the clubs.
Dusan Vlahovic might leave Juventus
July 10 -- Dusan Vlahovic might leave Juventus in the summer. The Italian club consider him on the market, as per CBS insider Fabrizio Romano, but only for "an important bid." He's one of the four strikers being considered by PSG at the moment and might be one of the players to watch this summer, while Chelsea and Bayern Munich are interested in him but still haven't opened talks to sign him.
July 8 -- Juventus have entered the race to sign Romelu Lukaku, according to The Athletic. Chelsea have rejected Inter's latest bid for Lukaku and consider the bid unserious, while Juventus and Al-Hilal are showing interest in the striker in the past days. Chelsea want a fee in the region of €45 million.
July 7 -- Juventus have finally announced the appointment of Cristiano Giuntoli as the new director of football of the Italian side. The former Napoli sporting director has already started to work in his new role.
June 27 -- Juventus have announced that Adrien Rabiot has extended his contract for a further season and will stay in Italy for at least another year. Rabiot has agreed to sign a short term deal until the summer 2024, and will stay at Juventus. Rabiot was one of the best players for Massimiliano Allegri's team last season, and he has attracted the interest of multiple European clubs including Manchester United. But for now he will stay, at least for another year.
June 20 -- Juventus have reached an agreement to sign Arek Milik permanently from Olympique Marseille. As Sky Italy reports, the Bianconeri have completed the agreement to sign the Polish striker Tuesday for around €6 million. The deal will also include €1m in add-ons based on Milik's appearances over the next few years. The former Napoli striker was loaned to Juventus in the summer of 2022 and scored nine goals in 39 games in all competitions and played regularly as the starting striker Dusan Vlahovic was out injured for the whole first part of the season.
Lukaku waits for Inter
July 11 -- Chelsea have pushed Romelu Lukaku's projected return to pre-season training back to next Monday as Inter attempt to conclude a deal to re-sign him before then, according to The Telegraph. Lukaku had originally been given a date of this Wednesday to re-start pre-season training but had no intention of returning to Cobham this week with his future still hanging in the balance.
July 7 -- While the future of Andre Onana looks increasingly away from Milan with Manchester United in talks to sign the goalkeeper, Inter are already working to find the replacement. The Italian side might sign three new goalkeepers this summer, after former captain Samir Handanovic still has not extended his contract and Alex Cordaz is expected to join Al-Nassr. As reported by Sky Italy, Inter are currently in talks to sign Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich and Anatolij Trubin from Shakhtar Donetsk. Talks will continue in the next days.
July 6 -- Inter have announced the signing of Davide Frattesi from Sassuolo. The Italian midfielder arrived on loan with obligation to buy and will replace Marcelo Brozovic, who left the Nerazzurri to join Al-Nassr.
July 3 -- Marcelo Brozovic has officially joined Al-Nassr, as the club have announced through their social media platforms.
July 3 -- One of the most entertaining stories of this window comes to an end. Marcelo Brozovic has finally decided to agree terms to sign for Al-Nassr as per Sky Italy. The Italian side will receive around €18 million to let the player go and Brozovic is expected to sign a contract valid for three years until the summer 2026.
July 1 -- Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has given an update on Romelu Lukaku's situation: "When he was signed for them it was by the previous owner. Now we have to see whether they still consider him a part of their project or now. If not, their strategy will change. But they can't think about selling him for a huge fee," the Inter executive observed. "The Saudi offer for him is £50 million, which is a far cry from what we got for him two years ago".
July 1 -- Inter have announced the signing of Marcus Thuram as a free agent after the player agreed terms and underwent his medicals with his new club earlier this week. At the same time the Nerazzurri have announced the departures of Milan Skriniar (who will join PSG), Danilo D'Ambrosio and Roberto Gagliardini as free agents.
July 1 -- Cesar Azpilicueta has decided to join Atletico de Madrid instead the agreement reached with Inter in the past days. The decision of the player was also agreed with the family, who preferred to go back to Spain instead of moving to Italy. Inter need now to look elsewhere for the replacement of Milan Skriniar, who left Inter as a free agent this summer.
June 23 -- Romelu Lukaku has decided to turn down all proposals while he's waiting for Inter to make a move. Despite AC Milan rumors coming from Italy, the agent of the player spoke to Romano about the future of the striker: "Romelu only wants to stay in Europe and he confirmed this by not joining Saudi clubs now. No negotiations are taking place with AC Milan".
June 23 -- Cesar Azpilicueta is the last name discussed between the two clubs, as the Nerazzurri are looking for a replacement for Milan Skriniar, who is set to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent. As per Sky Italy, Inter have discussed the future of the player with Chelsea in recent talks, and might join the Italian side this summer, despite the fact he's still under contract with the English club.
June 22 -- Edin Dzeko leaves Italian soccer. The former Manchester City striker has decided to leave Inter after his contract expired this summer and will play for Fenerbahce for the next two years. Dzeko played in Italy for AS Roma before and then for Inter in the past two seasons, where he won twice the Coppa Italia, twice the Supercoppa Italiana and reached the Champions League's final this year.
June 19 -- While Lukaku has turned down the possibility to play for Saudi clubs as he would prefer to play in Europe, it looks like Kalidou Koulibaly's chances to be back in the Italian league are now low as he might join the Saudi League. Inter will have to look to another player to replace Milan Skriniar, who is set to join Paris Saint Germain after he signed a pre-contract back in January.
June 15 -- Inter and Chelsea met in London to discuss the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Kalidou Koulibaly. As Romano reported, the two clubs met for the first time after the end of the season and the Italian side asked the two players on loan for next season. At the moment, Chelsea want to sell the players and are not interested in extending the loan of Lukaku for a further season, after the Belgian striker played for the Nerazzurri in the past season. The two clubs will likely speak again in the future about these two players. At the same time, Newcastle are reportedly interested to sign Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, but the Italian club don't consider him on the market at this stage. The Nerazzurri are also working to sign Italian midfielder Davide Frattesi from Sassuolo in the current summer window.
Napoli: Osimhen to Psg?
July 11 - Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke about the future of key player Victor Osimhen: "The only club that could afford Victor Osimhen is PSG. If Nasser Al Khelaifi wants to send in a bid around €200 million, we'll wait and we see what happens. I personally think that Victor will stay here."
July 8 -- Bayern Munich are now set to announce the signing of Korean defender Kim Min-Jae from Napoli. As CBS insider Fabrizio Romano reported, the German side already triggered the release clause and Napoli will receive around €50 million, taxes included.
June 29 -- Bayern Munich are now one step away from signing Korean defender Min-Jae from Napoli. As CBS insider Fabrizio Romano reported, the player has already agreed to sign a five-year deal with the German giants, who are also expected to trigger the release clause during the first days of July.
June 19 -- Kim Min-Jae is getting closer to signing for Bayern Munich. In fact, as per multiple reports, Bayern are currently only waiting the first weeks of July to trigger the release clause and sign the contract with the German side. The Korean defender is expected to sign a deal until 2028 with Bayern Munich.
June 15 -- Napoli's center back Kim Min-Jae is close to leaving Italian soccer only one year after he signed for the Serie A side in the summer 2022. In fact, after an excellent season that ended with the historic Scudetto win, the Korean defender attracted the interests of multiple European clubs, including Manchester United and Bayern Munich. As Sky Italy reported, the German side are currently leading the race to sign Kim, who arrived at the club last summer after Napoli paid the €19 million release clause to Fenerbahce.
AC Milan to sign Christian Pulisic
July 7 — AC Milan and Chelsea have agreed terms for the transfer of Christian Pulisic. The USMNT player will join the Rossoneri and will play in the Italian Serie A, pending medicals that will take place early next week. Pulisic had already agreed on personal terms weeks ago and he was pushing to join the Rossoneri despite the interest of other European clubs including Lyon.
July 6 -- Christian Pulisic is getting closer to joining AC Milan. As per Sky Italy, AC Milan and Chelsea are advancing to the final stages of the negotiations after the €22 million bid sent. Both sides are now confident to get the deal in the next days, after the player already agreed terms with the Italian side over the past days.
July 6 -- After Ruben Loftus-Cheek, AC Milan have also signed another player. Free agent Luka Romero underwent the medicals with his new club and he's set to be announced as a new AC Milan player. Romero played at Lazio in the past two seasons and he's considered one of the best talents in Italian soccer.
July 5 -- AC Milan have improved their bid to sign Christian Pulisic. As reported by The Athletic, the Rossoneri have offered around €20 million to sign the American player, who already accepted the Italian side as his next destination. Negotiations are advancing well, as per the same report.
July 3 -- Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah could be joining Timothy Weah in Serie A next season. The Rossoneri have started negotiations with Chelsea for Pulisic. The player is keen on the move, but there is no agreement yet between the two clubs, as Chelsea set a €25 million price for the USMNT star. AC Milan are insisting they want to pay less than that and the parties are working to find a deal in the coming days. According to a report from ESPN, Pulisic has already agreed to terms on a contract with Milan, and would agree to take a pay-cut to join the club. For Musah, who was also close to leaving Valencia in the January transfer window, AC Milan opened talks with the Spanish side after signing Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea. AC Milan are expected to offer around €20 million to sign the USMNT midfielder as negotiations are still ongoing to find an agreement with both club and player.
July 1 -- AC Milan have announced the signing of Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea for around €15 million. The player has also signed a contract until the summer 2027 with the Italian side.
June 23 -- Newcastle and AC Milan have reached an agreement over the transfer of Sandro Tonali. The two parties have agreed a fee for around €80 million, add-ons included. The player is set to sign his six-year deal while the agent of the player and Newcastle's directors fly to Romania where Tonali will undergo the first part of his medical tests.
AS Roma's Jose Mourinho stays
June 29 -- Jose Mourinho will stay at AS Roma next season despite the interest coming from Saudi clubs. After the offer from Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal also sent a big contract proposal to the Portuguese manager earlier this month before approaching Massimiliano Allegri, who also decided to stay at Juventus. Al-Hilal offered around €30 million per season, as reported by Romano, but Mourinho will stay at Roma.
June 21 -- AS Roma have announced the signing of Evan Ndicka, with the 23-year-old penning a deal until 2028. The former Eintracht Frankfurt defender joined AS Roma after his deal with the German side expired. This is Jose Mourinho's second signing of the summer, after the Giallorossi have also announced the arrival of another free agent, Houssem Aouar.
June 15 -- AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho declined an offer from Saudi Arabi's side Al-Ahli. Sky Italy reported that Mourinho met Al-Ahli's president in London, but the Portuguese coach said no as he personally decided to continue to coach the Italian side while he'e entering his third and last year under contract with AS Roma.
Tottenham announce Vicario
June 27 -- Spurs have announced the signing of Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli for around €19 million. The Italy international has signed a contract with the English club that will run until 2028 and will wear the number 13 jersey.
June 23 -- Tottenham have reached an agreement with Empoli to sign goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as their new player. The 26-year-old was one of the best goalkeepers in the past season with the Italian side and Tottenham decided to sign him this summer. The English club have reached an agreement on personal terms with Vicario on a five-year contract valid until the summer of 2028. Empoli are expected to receive around €19 million to sell the talented goalkeeper, while medicals should take place over the weekend.
