Thursday, 24th May, 2012
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed he plans to speak to Liverpool about midfielder Alberto Aquilani next month.
The former Roma schemer has been on a season-long loan at the Rossoneri, his second successive year-long loan spell in Serie A (Aquilani spent last season with Juventus) and is due to see that come to an end on 31st May.
Milan’s agreement with Liverpool compelled the Italian giants to purchase Aquilani outright if he made 25 appearances over the course of the season – but with substitute appearances counting as only 0.5 of a match, the 27-year-old fell short of the required amount.
This gives Milan a strong bargaining chip with which to negotiate with Liverpool in order to now try and push the player’s price down.
And so, the Rossoneri will speak to the Reds next month over coming to some sort of agreement for the Italian international at a level lower than that previously outlined.
"We won’t be taking up our option to buy Aquilani before 31st May", said Galliani when asked about the future of the player.
"We will speak again with Liverpool in June however", he added.
Aquilani still has two years to run on his Liverpool contract and, should the Reds appoint a new manager before his future is thrashed out, could realistically have a role to play in the Anfield club’s new regime.
The midfielder, who developed a reputation for repeatedly picking up injuries during his time on Merseyside, only suffered one niggle during the course of the 2011/12 campaign, with an ankle knock in January.
Related: Dirk Kuyt Gives Cautious Backing to Louis van Gaal Liverpool Link.
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