‘Serious’ – Aston Villa Face AC Milan Competition For 18-year-old
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AC Milan’s interest in Red Bull Salzburg’s Kerim Alajbegovic, who is being chased by Aston Villa, is deemed ‘serious and concrete’ ahead of the summer window.
The Cologne-born attacking talent spent eight years at 1.FC Koln’s youth academy, before Bayer Leverkusen had him in their youth system for four years.
Last summer, the BayArena side sold the teenage Bosnian to Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg, where he has impressed with 14-goal contributions in 37 games across all competitions.
However, he caught genuine transfer attention following his eye-catching performance against Italy in the World Cup qualifier final for Bosnia.
The 18-year-old attacker was not only impressive until extra time, but he also converted the penultimate penalty in the shootout against Manchester City superstar Gianluigi Donnarumma by sending the tall custodian the wrong way with a calm finish.
Bayer Leverkusen activated their buy-back clause a few days before the match, announcing that the Bosnian will return to the BayArena on a five-year deal.
However, a host of European giants, especially teams from England and Italy, are keen on the 18-year-old versatile attacker, meaning a quick move elsewhere could be in the offing if the price is right.
Aston Villa have been credited with wanting to sign Alajbegovic in the summer and it has been suggested that he will cost at least €30m.
The likes of Manchester United and Chelsea are also keeping an eye on him, with Roma and Napoli keen too.
AC Milan are also chasing him, and according to Italian journalist Antonio Vitiello, the Rossoneri’s interest in Alajbegovic is ‘serious and concrete’.
Aston Villa have had to strike a delicate balance with their spending in recent windows due to concerns over PSR rules.
Unai Emery though has them on course to return to the Champions League and that would hand Villa a big financial boost.
In the January window, Villa signed Brian Madjo and Alysson in a sign they are keen on young stars with high potential and Alajbegovic falls in the same category, though he has a lot more senior experience.
Bayer Leverkusen will hope for Alajbegovic to have a good summer World Cup with Bosnia, which will only see the teenager’s price go up, if they do indeed intend to sell.
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