AC Milan renew Morata interest — report

Another day, another Morata rumour. It’s another familiar one, though not seen since last summer.

According to the Italian football oracle, Gianluca Di Marzio, AC Milan have renewed their interest in the player they ultimately failed to sign last year. Milan’s interest was played against Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s back then, so there’s always a chance that similar shenanigans are happening now as Morata continues to be linked with Juventus. Or their interest could be genuine.

As per the report, Morata’s agent has received a “first approach” from the Rossoneri, who want to add a few goals to the team. Morata may have had his struggles, but he still scored 15 goals in all competitions, which is in line with his production at Juventus 2-3 years ago.

There’s enough smoke around Morata’s future and potential return to the Serie A that it’s hard to ignore the rumors, though it’s doubtful that Milan could afford Chelsea’s record signing. Not even Juventus can — thus the Cuadrado-esque structure of their supposedly proposed loan-to-buy arrangement — and the Old Lady aren’t on the brink of financial catastrophe like the former Milanese powerhouse.

Milan, whose takeover was funded by unsecured loans, have incurred losses in the region of €255 million in the past three seasons (limit allowed is €30 million) and they’ve already been called by UEFA multiple times to explain their business plan due to the uncertainty and risk surrounding it. Uncertainty and risk seem understatements in this case.

“There are still uncertainties in relation to the financing of the loans to be paid back in October 2018 and the financial guarantees provided by the main shareholder.”

“AC Milan will continue to be subject to the ongoing monitoring process and the situation will be assessed again in the first months of 2018.”

-UEFA, December 2017; Source: Forbes

Then there is also the whole aspect of Morata being loved by Juventus fans and vice-versa, so chances are he would not be pushing for a move to one of their biggest rivals. Sillier things have happened — that’s why we call it Silly Season — but we can probably safely discount this possibility. If Morata were to leave Chelsea, it would appear that Juventus (and possibly Real Madrid) would be the only viable option for a destination.