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It’s not a secret that AC Milan are in the market for a new winger. Plenty of names have been mentioned, with everyone from former Atlético Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco, a pair of PSV Eindhoven players in Hirving Lozano and Steven Bergwijn, and also a Milan return for Gerard Deulofeu.
Watford FC reportedly want €25 million for the former Barcelona winger.
#WatfordFC reportedly tell #ACMilan to pay €25m plus bonuses for Gerard Deulofeu by tomorrow or miss out on the winger https://t.co/6VPZBC8mCa #Hornets pic.twitter.com/NXbggKWy5Y
— footballitalia (@footballitalia) January 28, 2019
Many Milan fans would welcome Deulofeu back with open arms after he played with the Rossoneri 17 times in the second half of the 2016-17 season. He scored four goals and many hoped that his loan would be made permanent, but alas that wasn’t in the cards.
So should Milan return for an old friend? Or should Milan take a gamble on a younger player with more potential?
Even though Deulofeu is only 24 years old, he’s spent time at quite a few clubs, appearing for Everton, Sevilla, Barcelona, Milan, and Watford. He’s made four appearances for Spain, but it’s been over a year since he made an appearance for the national team, and that was in an 8-0 win over Liechtenstein.
By comparison, both of the PSV wingers that Milan are reportedly interested in are younger, with Bergwijn only 21 years old and Lozano 23 years old. Lozano is also a budding star in Europe, and proven himself at the World Cup in Russia this past summer as being able to perform on the world stage.
€25 million seems like a lot for Deulofeu, especially since Watford only paid £11.5 million for him last summer. Perhaps Watford sense an opportunity to make some cash on an in-demand player?
Anyway, Milan will have trouble fitting a €25 million payment on top of the money that they have already committed towards Lucas Paqueta, Krzysztof Piatek, and the option that they have to pick up on Tiémoué Bakayoko in the summer. While at least Milan won’t have to pay the transfer fee for Gonzalo Higuain, the club will still have to be prudent with its spending, lest they run afoul of FFP again.
If the price for Deulofeu can be lower to a reasonable amount, then this deal would make sense, otherwise it would be prudent for Milan to look elsewhere.