AC Milan are flush with new money after recently being taken over by a Chinese consortium. The $828 Million sale (reported by forbes) to Chinese investors is expected to be a major turning point in Milan’s history. After being a dominant force in Italian football for a long time, the club has been unable to compete with the top teams for the best part of the last two decades. Silvio Berlusconi, who has been the club’s president for more than 30 years, claimed that he wanted the new owners to invest in the playing squad. It appears that his wish may be fulfilled, as Milan have been linked with several players over the last few weeks.
After being linked with top players on the fringes like Cesc Fabregas and Memphis Depay, it seems that Milan are also targeting first-team stars. Tottenham’s Erik Lamela has become a surprise transfer target. Calcio Mercato reports that Milan are ready to pay around €25 million for the Argentine winger. It is certainly not a sum of money that would tempt Spurs at the moment. It would be surprising if chairman Daniel Levy even entered into negotiations at this price point.
Lamela certainly struggled after arriving from Roma. He was a £25.8 million signing from the Italian outfit two years ago. Still only 24, he is just about hitting the best period of his career. It would not be surprising if Levy puts a €50 million price tag upon Lamela. Such has been the immense contributions of the player over the last 18 months. Especially under Mauricio Pochettino, he has hit a new wave of form. After scoring only one goal in his first season, Lamela showed improvement to finish with five in 46 appearances in the 2014-15 season.
Last season, though, saw Lamela emerge into a top player at White Hart Lane after scoring 11 goals in just 44 games. He has showed no signs of slowing down this campaign after already scoring twice in eight appearances. Spurs will have little reason to sell the player unless they receive an astronomical offer or if the player wants to leave. Over the years, several top stars have tried the latter trick only to see Levy come out on top.
This transfer interest may very well turn out to be an agent generated interest. The winger has a contract with Spurs until the summer of 2020. Since there are just over three years left on his deal, it is highly unlikely that Tottenham would consider the possibility of an extension. Any interest from other clubs would possibly be one of the elements that brings about contract talks to the table. Lamela may not be the first player to use the trick.
