Real Madrid have reportedly joined a host of other European clubs, including Barcelona and Juventus, in the pursuit of AC Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio.
AC Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio has been at the club from the age of 10 and has played professional club football only for the Rossoneri. The 23-year-old was touted as the “next Maldini” after impressing everyone in his debut season at San Siro under Massimiliano Allegri. The versatile fullback’s career has since stalled, with De Sciglio losing his starting place to Ignazio Abate. Luca Antonelli has been staying put on the left side for AC Milan, which has severely restricted the Italy international’s playing time.
However, De Sciglio seems to have revived his career after a strong showing at Euro 2016 for the national team under Antonio Conte. His performances in the blue shirt have put him on the radar of a host of big European clubs. Fellow Serie A sides Napoli and Juventus have shown interest as well, with AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani confirming that Napoli failed with a bid for the young defender.
De Sciglio’s mentor at AC Milan, Max Allegri, is the present manager at Juventus and is reportedly keen to bring his protege to Turin. Meanwhile, German giants Bayern Munich have also been reported to be keeping tabs on the Juventus target. The defender’s performances have enamoured several elite clubs, with La Liga champions Barcelona interested in signing the heavily sought-after Italian to fill the void left by the departure of Brazilian Dani Alves.
The defender has now seemingly impressed Real Madrid with his Euro 2016 performances and is reportedly on Los Blancos‘ radar. Italian Football Daily recently reported a La Gazzetta dello Sport story claiming that Real Madrid were among a host of other European clubs interested in the Italian.
The report also continued to state that despite struggling to make his own mark last season at AC Milan, De Sciglio’s recent performances at the European Championships have convinced the Milan hierarchy of De Sciglio’s talent and as such, they want to keep him at the San Siro.
Real Madrid’s interest has also been reported by Yahoo Sports, who cite a story from Spanish newspaper El Diario indicating that Los Blancos are in the market for a fullback to cover for star Brazilian Marcelo. The report also stated that the Madrid hierarchy have been disappointed by Nacho and Danilo’s performances when replacing Marcelo in the squad and are now looking to strengthen cover in that position, despite Portuguese fullback Fabio Coentrao returning from his loan spell at AS Monaco.
De Sciglio has struggled in the recent past with AC Milan and a move away could help him reignite the spark that led many to believe that he would be Italy’s next great defender. Milan have no Champions League to offer either, which could be decisive in the defender’s decision to leave the club. If Milan do end up having to part with De Sciglio, it is reported that they could replace the defender with former Real Madrid player Alvarao Arbeloa, whose contract with Real Madrid expired last month.
