Milan stance hands Atalanta boost in race for Italy international Ricci | OneFootball

Reports in Italy claim that Massimiliano Allergi’s stance on Italy international Samuele Ricci hands an advantage to Atalanta in the race for his signature.

Why Milan no longer lead race for Ricci

Milan have been considering a move for Ricci at various stages of the 2024-25 season, and had been close to agreeing a deal to sign him during the January transfer window.

While reports claimed that the Rossoneri would return for Ricci during the summer transfer window, the appointment of Allegri as head coach might have changed the situation.

Juventus’ Italian coach Massimiliano Allegri looks on prior the Italian Cup Final between Atalanta and Juventus at the Olympic stadium in Rome on May 15, 2024. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)

According to reports from Calciomercato.com, Milan’s evaluations of Ricci have changed following the appointment of Allegri, and now, the chances of the Torino midfielder moving to San Siro this summer seem unlikely.

Instead, Atalanta, now under the guidance of Ricci’s former Torino coach Ivan Juric, could be poised to make a suitable offer.

Samuele Ricci (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

Wednesday’s report claims that Atalanta will soon present a formal offer to Torino, who value Ricci in the region of €30m, more than treble the €9m they paid to sign him from Empoli in 2022.

Milan, meanwhile, are looking at Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen and Javi Guerra from Valencia as midfield alternatives.