CM: ‘First days of January’ – Milan ‘intensify’ interest in Verona’s Belahyane | OneFootball

AC Milan will be active in the January mercato and it seems their first purchase will be Reda Belahyane, at least if things go to plan.

Last season, there was a need for a better midfield, in terms of the personnel. Now, Milan are once again looking to add to the area, but looking for depth, rather than starters. Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders do not have ‘proper’ deputies, so work must be done to find them.

So far, the Rossoneri have considered several profiles: Samuele Ricci, Morten Frendrup and Johnny Cardoso. But it seems their preference will be Belahyane, with Calciomercato.com reporting that the Moroccan midfielder has overtaken the Genoa midfielder in the past days.

This is mainly due to the price. Hellas Verona will ask for €8-10 million, compared to the €15-20m that Genoa request for Frendrup. With interest from other European clubs, the Diavolo are looking to get their business done quickly, and the report suggests that the club are looking to ‘intensify’ negotiations soon.

As the report states, Geoffrey Moncada has followed the youngster since his time at Nice, and since blossoming in Italy, his interest has been reignited. There has already been contact between the Diavolo and the player’s agency, and the club want to engage in negotiations with Verona soon to ensure that the purchase can be done quickly.

In an ideal world, the youngster would be available in the first days of January, and given he is under 22, there would be no need to register him – which there would be for someone like Frendrup.