Croatia fullback Ivan Strinic makes move to AC Milan

Former Hajduk Split, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, and Napoli fullback Ivan Strinic has made the switch from Sampdoria to AC Milan. The Croatia international was out of contract and free to sign with any team, even though the transfer window isn’t currently open in Italy. He leaves Sampdoria after only one season.

Strinic has made the provisional World Cup squad for Croatia, and has a good chance to make the final squad, as Croatia’s “provisional” squad named 24 of the 23 potential attendees. Croatia will be Group D with Euro 2016 Cinderella Iceland, African powerhouse Nigeria, and Argentina. He could face up against fellow Milan player Lucas Bigila when Croatia and Argentina face off on 21 June in Nizhny Novgorod.

Strinic had seen his time at Sampdoria reduced during the second half of the season after he apparently did not extend his contract with the club. When announcing the deal, Strinic spoke of his lack of playing time and his move to Milan, saying:

Now that the season is over I can say that I’ve signed a new contract with AC Milan and I am not a Sampdoria player anymore. My contract with AC Milan will be valid for the next three years and I think AC Milan will announce my signing after the World Cup.

When your contract is about to expire a club have two options: they can decide to let you play anyway or they can decide to leave you on the sidelines until the end of the season. Sampdoria opted for the second option and that’s why I only played three games in the second part of the season. AC Milan wanted to sign me and told me that my playing time was not important for them. They trusted me and this is the most important thing for me.

Welcome to Milan, Ivan!