AC Milan director confirms Mike Maignan ‘not leaving’, no deal with Chelsea

Chelsea’s opportunistic pursuit of Mike Maignan ended unsuccessfully earlier this month, and it doesn’t sound like we’ll be getting a second chance at it, with AC Milan adamant that the 29-year-old goalkeeper will be staying with them for next season.

At least that’s the plan from new sporting director Igli Tare, who was appointed at the end of last month.

“Maignan is not leaving, he will be at Milan again next season. There was interest from a Premier League club but in the end no agreement was found.”

Hey, that’s us!

“Also knowing that Maignan is an important point of reference not only on the pitch, but also off the pitch, we decided to focus on him for next season and to move forward together. Football is unpredictable, but for us he remains a point of reference in this team.” -Igli Tare; source: Metro

This stance matches the reporting around the situation from before the start of the Club World Cup, when Chelsea were unwilling to meet Milan’s valuation for a goalkeeper with just one year left on his contract. They wanted €25m; we were offering €15m.

That opportunity technically might still be there — it doesn’t sound like Maignan’s ready to agree a new contract with Milan — but barring a late twist in the tale later this summer, it looks like the Chelsea job remains Robert Sánchez’s to lose.

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