Secrets and Whispers: Chelsea FC reportedly registers interest in AC Milan’s Valentina Giacinti

As was noted before, there is inner turmoil brewing at the AC Milan Women. The locker room seems fractured and the team no longer seems like it’s a cohesive and functioning unit.

The main reason for the fracture seems to center on a spat between two of the players and coach Maurizio Ganz. The two players in question are Valentina Giacinti and Verónica Boquete. And naturally, of course, this has led to rumors about their potential departures.

According to Tutto Calcio Femminile (via Cartellino Rosa), Verónica has received offers from both Sassuolo and ACF Fiorentina to join their teams.

The Viola have also, apparently, extended an offer for Valentina to join them. However, Giacinti’s most high-profile offers have come from abroad. The most prominent of which is one from Chelsea FC. The previously mentioned Tutto Calcio Femminile has stated that should Giacinti decide to leave Milan, that they would refuse to sell her to other teams in Italy. The Rossonere’s management has reportedly rebuffed hefty offers from both AS Roma and Fiorentina, as they do not wish to strengthen their domestic competition. Instead, they would only entertain offers from teams from abroad, with Chelsea being one of the interested parties.

If Valentina were to join the Blues, then she would find herself in a top-heavy lineup that includes the likes of Pernille Harder, Ji So-yun, Melanie Leupolz, Fran Kirby, and of course, Sam Kerr. Giacinti would also find herself alongside not only Kerr but another Ballon d’Or nominee, in that of team captain Magdalena Eriksson.

One also has to wonder if she’d find any space in their starting lineup, or if Valentina would be happy in a role as the team’s super-sub.

The same site reports that other teams are also interested in the forward, including a few teams from Spain. Valentina was previously linked to Real Madrid in the past, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Las Blancas revive their interest in the striker.

However, not all hope is lost for Milan. According to Alessandro Jacobone (Milanisti Non Evoluto), the club’s technical director, Paolo Maldini, is said to be meeting with Valentina within the upcoming days. The purpose of the meeting is to convince the forward to stay at the team by reminding them of their importance to the Rossonere’s project.

Nonetheless, given the fact that Maldini recently intervened on Maurizio Ganz’s behalf, and defended him when he took the armband away from Giacinti, one can’t blame Valentina for having any doubts. One also can’t blame her if she entertains some of the offers that have been sent her way. One also shouldn’t be surprised if she decides to leave the club.

Giacinti’s departure would be a devastating loss, given how instrumental she’s been to the club as a whole. The forward is singlehandedly responsible for scoring 36.1% of Milan’s goals (55 out of 122). Overall, the Italy international has scored 181 goals for both club and for country and has registered a total of seven assists (InStat).

She is also the team’s true leader and was, at one point, the club’s golden girl and the most poignant symbol of all things Milan. Now, the Rossoneri have refused to feature her in many of their recent promotional activities, as there is a chance she might not stay with them for much longer.

And in one fell swoop, everything that the club has built up is threatening to come undone.

This syndicated soap opera is unfolding on a nightly basis, so stay tuned as we post more about this within the upcoming days.