Andrea Conti expected to join Milan imminently

It seems the longest transfer saga for Milan this summer is coming to a close as Gianluca DiMarzio has reported that AC Milan and Atalanta have reached an agreement for Andrea Conti at around €24 million and 20-year-old Matteo Pessina who spent last season on loan at Como. Conti, who has expressed his desire to join Milan on numerous occasions, is expected to have his medical done on Thursday before a contract signing on Friday, barring any medical complications. The 23-year-old wingback agreed to personal terms last month at about €2 million a season.

The Italian international had an excellent season with La Dea, scoring 8 goals with 5 assists to boot as a wingback, with more goals than any other defender in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Per Squawka, Andrea Conti had a Serie A defensive performance rating at 25^th among all Serie A defenders, better than Dani Alves, Bruno Peres, Andrea Barzagli, and Elseid Hysaj, while coming just shy of Daniele Rugani. The only one ahead of him on Milan would be Alessio Romagnoli, who sits 11^th amongst all Serie A defenders. As a primarily right sided player, Conti will likely come in and compete for the job with veteran Abate, though based on previous performance, it doesn’t look like it will be too much trouble for Conti, who is quietly emerging as one of the best wing backs across Europe. Conti was previously being courted by Chelsea and Napoli with both Inter and Juventus keeping a watchful eye as well.

Milan has now truly bought the defense they desperately need for the coming campaign, and while the past Milan teams wouldn’t stand for it, times change and so do finances/club status. Bravo Fassone and Mirabelli, solid signing.