Barcelona are reportedly tracking the situation of Alessio Romagnoli and Simon Kjaer, with the AC Milan duo in the final year of their deals at San Siro.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Defensa Central, Alessio Romagnoli and Simon Kjaer are both the subject of interest from Real Madrid over a potential free transfer in next summer’s transfer window. The AC Milan defensive duo are among 11 centre-backs on the radar of the Spanish giants over a potential Bosman move.
Alessio Romagnoli join AC Milan from boyhood club AS Roma in the summer of 2015 and has since established himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A. The Rossoneri’s club captain since 2018, the 26-year-old has made 227 appearances with the Italian giants, chipping in with nine goals and two assists along the way.
However, Romagnoli has lost his place as a regular for Milan since the arrival of Fikayo Tomori, with the English international being one of the two first-choice centre-backs along with Simon Kjaer. Speaking of, Kjaer has been a fine addition to the AC Milan squad, having arrived from Sevilla in January 2020.
However, his deal with the Serie A outfit runs out next summer, as is the case with Romagnoli as well. And such a scenario has piqued the interest of Real Madrid, who are in the market for a centre-back, particularly one who could be a cost-effective signing.
To that end, Los Blancos have been linked with Jason Denayer, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Matthias Ginter, among others, with Romagnoli and Kjaer being viable targets as well. In particular, both the AC Milan defenders are proven leaders, which is just the kind of quality Real Madrid need in a central defender following the departure of Sergio Ramos in the summer.
What separates the duo is their age, with Romagnoli likely to provide the best years of his career to the Merengues while Kjaer, at 32, will only be a short-term solution. However, recent reports have suggested that the Danish international is likely to be rewarded with a new contract while Romagnoli is also keen on staying put in Italy.
With that in mind, it could be likely that Real Madrid are forced to turn their attention towards an alternative, although their priority is to sign Antonio Rudiger or Niklas Sule. For now, what remains certain is that Real Madrid will likely add a centre-back to the first-team squad next summer, with the addition possibly being an economical one.