Milan drop Rabiot as Bennacer stays put in San Siro | OneFootball

Milan have ended their pursuit of former Juventus midfielder and current free agent Adrien Rabiot, but the Rossoneri will keep hold of Ismael Bennacer after the close of the transfer window in Saudi Arabia.

Milan drop Rabiot, Bennacer stays on

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, the Rossoneri had been exploring the possibility of bringing Rabiot to San Siro. Milan needed to move players on first before that could happen, and a lot depended on Bennacer’s future.

Bennacer had at one point been linked with a move to Olympique de Marseille, and then later to the Saudi Pro League, whose window for signing players from foreign leagues closed on September 2.

As Bennacer has not left, Milan will no longer be going after Rabiot, even though they had offered him a lucrative deal, according to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Bennacer, who is still one of Milan’s highest earners with a salary in the region of €4m per season, will now look to fight for a place in Paulo Fonseca’s starting line-up.

The coach will also have to decide whether to include him in his Champions League squad, but Tuesday’s reports suggest that he is more likely to be included than Luka Jovic, who could lose his place in the European squad for deadline day arrival Tammy Abraham.