Milan seals Kalinic signing from Fiorentina on 4-year deal
AC Milan CEO Marco Fassone hinted the club has finished its summer spending spree after signing its 11th player in this transfer window: Nikola Kalinic.
Milan signed Kalinic from Fiorentina on a one-year loan deal with the obligation to buy, with the Croatia forward penning a four-year contract on Tuesday to June 30, 2021.
"With Nikola we've completed the team," Fassone said.
Milan, which was bought by a Chinese-led consortium in April, has spent more than 200 million euros (US$234 million) in the offseason, signing players such as Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva, Ricardo Rodriguez, Franck Kessie, Andrea Conti, Hakan Calhanoglu, Lucas Biglia and Mateo Musacchio.
"(Kalinic) is the player we wanted to complete the squad because he has experience and quality," Fassono said. "We always said we wanted to have a mix of young and talented players and experienced ones, to build a spine of experienced players.
"We got Bonucci, we got Biglia, we got Nikola, who completes the squad."
Milan was in talks with Fiorentina for the 29-year-old Kalinic from mid-June, and he missed training last week as he attempted to push through the move.
"I have to say this has been a long and difficult story, more than two months," Fassone said. "We're here because he (Kalinic) wanted to become a Rossonero so strongly. He has a boundless and historic love for our shirt and that's what allowed us to unlock this long negotiation that we had with Fiorentina."
Kalinic, who also played for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League, moved to Italy in 2015 and had 33 goals in 83 appearances for Fiorentina.
He said he preferred to do his talking on the pitch.
Kalinic will wear the No. 7 shirt, which was worn by one of Milan's best-ever forwards, Andriy Shevchenko.
No financial details were disclosed, but reports say Milan will pay Fiorentina 25 million euros for Kalinic.
Milan, which last won the league in 2011, opened its Serie A campaign with a 3-0 win at Crotone. It also beat Shkendija 6-0 in the Europa League last Thursday.
Unsettled striker
Meanwhile, Monaco's unsettled striker Kylian Mbappe came under fire on Tuesday from hardcore supporters of the French champion, AFP reported.
Ultras Monaco 1994 took to Twitter to claim that the reported Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid target had "proved nothing special in his few dozen matches as a professional".
Mbappe was left out of Monaco's squad for Friday's Ligue 1 outing at Metz as speculation intensified surrounding the teen sensation's future.
"Kylian is not at 100 percent. He is not in great form. But that is to be expected of a kid who is just 18," Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim explained.
Mbappe's new employers will have to meet a reported 180-million euro price tag to secure the services of a player who scored 26 goals in 44 matches last season.
The club's Ultras said they were "amazed and indignant" at the amount of money "involved in Mbappe's transfer and in his salary to extend his contract".
"No player is worth so many millions of euros," argued UM1994.
In their Twitter criticism Monaco's Ultras spoke of "the love and respect for the shirt of the club that helped shape him for life".
And they reminded Mbappe "and his entourage" that "nothing or no one is bigger than AS Monaco".
Their statement concluded with a vote of confidence in the club's directors "to construct a team capable of defending our title with or without Mbappe".
Monaco has lost three key members of the title-winning team this summer.
Full-back Benjamin Mendy was sold to Manchester City for a reported 52 million pounds (US$67 million) fee, a world record for a defender, last month, joining Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva at the club.
Powerful midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko meanwhile joined Chelsea.