There’s an obvious attraction for clubs when it comes to free agent signings because it saves on the transfer fee, but it does leave the player in a position where they can demand an enormous pay rise to make up for that.
AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu will be able to negotiate a pre contract agreement from January if they can’t agree a new contract soon, and the latest reports from Football-Italia suggest it may be unlikely.
They quote Spanish outlet AS in suggesting that Atletico Madrid are now looking to sign him for free next summer, and his availability looks even more likely after they indicated that his renewal talks were starting to falter.
He’s currently on €2.5m per year but he’s hoping to earn as much as €6.5m a year if he moves, and they confirm that Man United are also looking to sign him.
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They do indicate that he could leave in January if he fails to agree a new contract, so it looks like Milan would rather get what they can instead of letting him go for free.
Signing for Atletico Madrid is always an interesting one because Diego Simeone is especially demanding on his players, and Calhanoglu doesn’t look like the most obvious fit.
He’s at his best in a number ten role so he might struggle to fit into the United team too just now, so it will be interesting to see how this turns out.