Milan accelerate for Adli, Grillitsch is Plan B
Milan are accelerating their efforts to sign Girondins de Bordeaux midfielder Yacine Adli, but do have Hoffenheim’s Florian Grillitsch as an alternative.
The asking price for Adli is at least €12m and the Rossoneri are trying to whittle that down with the promise of performance-related bonuses, so far proposing close to €10m.
He is a former PSG youth academy graduate who turned 21 last month and can play in a variety of creative midfield roles.
This means he could alternate with the likes of Ismael Bennacer just as well as Brahim Diaz in Stefano Pioli’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Bordeaux signed Adli from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2019 for €5.5m and his French-Algerian ancestry – along with his middle name, Zinedine – has attracted comparisons with Zidane.
Nowhere near as prolific as Zizou, Adli scored two goals and provided five assists in 35 Ligue 1 games last season.
Facing competition from Tottenham, Arsenal and Lille, Milan do have a Plan B waiting in the wings too.
La Gazzetta dello Sport point to Hoffenheim midfielder Grillitsch, although the 26-year-old is more defensive than Adli.
The Austria international is also far cheaper, seeing as his contract is due to expire next summer.