- AC Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma urged to leave by agent Raiola
- Youngster continues to establish himself as key figure for the Rossoneri
- Silva and Kalinic could be heading for exit door in the summer
- READ MORE: AC Milan transfer news: Two-year deal agreed, second summer deal touted
After the drama over the summer, AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has settled this season and is beginning to play a key role for the side.
Having initially rejected the club’s offer of a new contract which sparked public outrage from many supporters, he eventually penned a new deal.
The 19-year-old has gone on to make 38 appearances so far this season, keeping 18 clean sheets while conceded 34 goals as Milan have become much better organised at the back since Gennaro Gattuso’s appointment as Vincenzo Montella’s successor.
Despite going on a 13-game unbeaten run without conceding in 584 minutes of football along with booking a spot in the Coppa Italia final and reigniting their hopes of a Champions League qualification spot, Donnarumma’s agent, Mino Raiola, continues to urge his client to move away from the San Siro.
“Gigio made a choice, of staying at Milan, and I respect it,” Raiola is quoted as saying by ESPN.
“However, if he were to ask me to leave, I would get straight to work because there are big offers for him. In fact, if it were up to me, Gigio would leave Milan.”
It sounds as though the decision is indeed up to the teenager, and so Raiola’s ongoing agenda to get him to leave the Rossoneri seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Having come through the ranks at Milan and re-established himself as a popular figure at the club with supporters, many will likely be hoping that Donnarumma sticks around for a long time to come as he will be expected to mature and improve further in the coming years.
Coupled with the likes of Alessio Romagnoli, Davide Calabria, Andrea Conti, Manuel Locatelli and Patrick Cutrone, Gattuso has a strong contingent of young Italian players at his disposal, and they’ll surely be looking to preserve that.
Silva and Kalinic at risk of being axed in the summer
Meanwhile, Calciomercato claim that two strikers struggling this season could be at risk of being offloaded this summer, with Andre Silva and Nikola Kalinic facing uncertain futures.
Neither have convinced since arriving last summer, with Silva scoring eight goals in 30 appearances while Kalinic has four in 27 outings.
The latter was guilty of missing a glorious opportunity against Lazio in midweek in the Coppa Italia semi-final, which will have only served as further fuel for his critics to argue for his exit.
Whether or not Silva follows him remains to be seen as he’s still only 22 and can improve, but this report doesn’t paint a positive picture and youngster Cutrone has outshone them both this season having initially only been considered as a back-up option given his age and inexperience.