GdS: ‘The Thuram derby’ – Milan want to complete midfield with €40m Nice star

SempreMilan

·28 March 2024

GdS: ‘The Thuram derby’ – Milan want to complete midfield with €40m Nice star

There could be a ‘Thuram derby’ in Serie A next season as AC Milan have set their sights on Marcus’ brother Khephren ahead of the summer, a report claims.

According to what is being reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), Marcus Thuram was a target for Milan last summer and now they are keen on his little brother as they look to complete their midfield.

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The Thuram family cover all areas of the pitch: their father was a central defender, the Inter man in attack and Khephren in the middle, manning the midfield. Milan already has a base on which to build the future, it is now a question of adding the right piece.

Khephren in the sights

For this reason the Rossoneri will look for high-level reinforcements, few and targeted, who can make the team increasingly competitive. The priority will be to fill the centre-forward role, which was left undefended after Olivier Giroud’s departure.

However, the defence and midfield will also need addressing later but there is the idea of making the line in front of Mike Maignan increasingly solid and an attempt will be made to make the midfield even larger.

Khephren Thuram is an important player, a leader for Nice, and a new entry to Didier Deschamps’ national team. Today he has a market value of €40m, but with the advantage of a contract expiring in the summer of 2025 which makes him master of his own destiny.

The disadvantage is the international competition, with the usual Premier League teams interested, and that could make things a bit more difficult for Geoffrey Moncada and his team.

Career to date

Khephren was born in Parma in 2001, like Marcus was four years earlier. In 2016 he joined Monaco’s youth sector with whom he made his professional debut at the end of November 2018, in the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.

Three years later, when his contract expired, he was signed by OGC Nice. With Monaco he finished with three games and zero goals.

With Nice he has made 160 appearances and nine goals. At 23 he is in his fifth season in Ligue 1, his fourth as a starter.

Last March 16th he was called up to the senior national team for the first time, with whom he then made his debut eight days later in the match against the Netherlands: in the meantime he had been part of all the youth sides.

The possible assist

Khephren is one of the many ideas for Milan when it comes to the midfield. What ally could Milan have, given that they will not sign up for auctions? An Inter player, Marcus Thuram.

The brothers are very close and would gladly reunite in Milan. In essence, the assist from a Nerazzurri striker for the Rossoneri mercato.

The midfield has a wide variety of solutions but can always have one more: Pioli has all the men in the department at his disposal (soon Tommaso Pobega) and everyone is on the same level. All hypothetical starters and interchangeable, each with their own characteristics.

Yacine Adli and Ismael Bennacer played as a double playmaker, Reijnders alternated with them, Ruben Loftus-Cheek acted as both midfielder and attacking midfielder.

The addition of a more defensive presence lead to a review of the balance: the new signings, Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek, will remain two pillars.

Economic resources

A year ago Marcus left Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer, his younger brother will instead cost around forty million more. French clubs are expensive shops, but as mentioned Milan could lower price by leveraging the fact the player’s contract expiring in the summer of 2025.

It is also true that Milan have the resources for such an investment, for example they have the revenues guaranteed by the almost certain participation in the next Champions League (€50m).

In addition, they will most likely collect the ransom that Atalanta will pay to free De Ketelaere from any Rossoneri constraints (another €26m), in addition to the earnings that have arrived and may arrive from the Europa League.

The main percentage of the budget will be allocated to investing in the new striker, the rest will also be defined based on other market movements. Meanwhile, Milan are thinking of adding itself to Khéphren’s suitors, so as to open a new derby…