AC Milan have a busy summer transfer window ahead of them under Paulo Fonseca and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as the Rossoneri need to overhaul their defense and land a new striker to replace the iconic Olivier Giroud.
While Milan negotiate for a new right back in Emerson Royal to help replace the underwhelming duo of Alessandro Florenzi and Davide Calabria, rumors have circulated regarding the future of star man Theo Hernandez on the left side.
Hernandez is enhancing his reputation on the international stage for France at Euro 2024, as the man with the slaloming goals at left back is viewed as arguably the best at the position.
If Alphonso Davies moves to Real Madrid this summer, there’s a sense that Bayern Munich could go after Hernandez next to replace the Canadian.
But even Real Madrid themselves could go after Hernandez, who came up at the Castilla academy. Then there is Premier League champions Manchester City who could also be interested in the left back.
Yet as relayed by Fabrizio Romano, AC Milan senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic has confirmed that Theo Hernandez isn’t going anywhere this summer despite the rampant transfer rumors:
“Theo will be our regular starter and Alex Jiménez will be his backup”.
The acquisition of top young talent Alex Jimenez – another fullback from the prestigious Real Madrid academy – helped fan the flames of a possible Hernandez transfer, but the 19-year-old is, per Zlatan, slotted to be the backup.
Clearly, Jimenez isn’t ready to start for Hernandez, and, clearly, Milan are in no position to compete with Inter Milan for the Serie A title if the sell Theo, who is their best player.
While there could be some debate about Rafael Leao being Milan’s best – or even Christian Pulisic or Mike Maignan in goal – Theo’s overall impact as an outfield player and his week-to-week consistency as the arguable best left back in the world give him a trump card.
Milan fans will be reassured to hear Zlatan say that Hernandez isn’t going anywhere, but with supporters still unsure how much to trust RedBird Capital, they will believe the reassurances when they see Hernandez playing for the team in the Fall when the transfer window closes.
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