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Leonardo stayed back in Milan instead of joining the squad in Madrid to work on the transfer market. Three players left AC Milan between Friday and Saturday freeing up some of the wage bill and possibly creating space for another signing or two in the final week of the Italian transfer window.
André Silva has joined Sevilla on a season-long loan. Sevilla will have the option to buy him for a rumoured €35 million. Silva will be leaving Milan after just one season having scored 10 goals in all competitions. He struggled to find his form and, in his defence, did not feature regularly enough to have the time to discover his FC Porto form. Milan allowing him to leave the club raises questions on whether or not Carlos Bacca will play a role in the upcoming season.
Luca Antonelli was the second player to leave Milan through a termination of contract. Antonelli was soon enough announced as a new Empoli player on a three-year contract. Antonelli featured 13 times in the previous campaign and netted once in the Europa League. He leaves after three and a half seasons with Milan where he failed to lock down the LB spot. Antonelli received many well wishes from the Milan players and Andrea Conti’s message on Instagram particularly stood out “Always professional, never a word or an attitude out of place. You are an example to follow for us young people, thanks for everything.”
Lastly we saw Manuel Locatelli reportedly on the brink of a move to Sassuolo on a year-long loan worth €2 million with an obligation to buy at €10 million as per Sky Italia. Di Marzio reported that contrary to expectation there is no buyback clause in his contract. Locatelli burst onto the scene with his screamers against Juventus and Sassuolo two years ago but has not been able to develop as hoped to settle in as a mezzalla. The move away should have been an opportunity for growth but the lack of a buyback shows Milan letting go of yet another youth prospect that could have strengthened them later as Saponara and Cristante could have. Once again this departure raises the question of whether Andrea Bertolacci will have a role to play this year as he has received praise from Gattuso in the pre-season.