A centre-back and an attacking midfielder. After sealing the arrival of Diego Moreira from Strasbourg, with the player having his medical yesterday and set to be officially announced today, AC Milan want to hand Amorim two more reinforcements to help the team make the definitive leap in quality. Their priorities have long been clear: an attacking midfielder who can play alongside Pulisic behind Gonçalo Ramos, and a centre-back who can lead the department with Pavlovic and Gila. Among the profiles AC Milan are considering are Lecce's Tiago Gabriel and, above all, Sporting Lisbon's Goncalo Inacio, whom Amorim knows very well. The 2001-born player's name already surfaced in the June talks between the Portuguese coach, Cardinale and the transfer team, and in these final two weeks of the transfer window it could come back into focus.
CalciomercatoTranslated by
AC Milan do not give up on Gonçalo Inacio: between the release clause, transfer fee and the player’s openness
Very high release clause
Signing the centre-back who came through the Lions academy will be difficult, but the deal is not impossible. Gonçalo Inacio is a pillar of Rui Borges' Sporting Lisbon and from this year, helped by Hjulmand's departure for Atletico Madrid, he has become their captain, but the Portuguese capital club do not view him as untouchable. Everyone has a price, including Inacio, who still has a release clause of €60 million. When he renewed his contract until 2030 last December, he turned down the club's proposal to raise it to 80. With 1 September approaching, and Sporting obliged to find a replacement, it is hard to see him leaving for a knockdown price at this stage of the market.
Inacio opens up, it depends on Sporting
It would take a huge offer to prise him away from Sporting, more than €40 million. Inacio knows AC Milan are interested but he is not in a position to force the issue. Sporting are the team of his life; he would never do them wrong. But if talks were to begin, he would be open to a change of scene and a move to Italy, even without Champions League football. According to CNN Portugal, he had opened the door to leaving after the World Cup, but Sporting have since sold Diomandé to Nottingham Forest and cannot afford to lose another pillar. Much will depend on what Cardinale decides to do, having already worked with Jorge Mendes, Inacio's agent, on the Ramos and Moreira deals in this transfer window.
ENJOYED THIS STORY?
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
