D’Ottavio sent to scout Wolfsburg star as Milan line up €20m deal

AC Milan are expected to sign a new central defender once the transfer window reopens and Maxence Lacroix has emerged as the number one target, a report claims.

According to Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews), Simon Kjaer could well end up leaving the club at the end of the season given that his contract expires, so the management are already thinking about reinforcements in that area.

Lacroix is the name that stands out. He has played for several years with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, a team with whom he has accumulated a good deal of experience. His name had also been mentioned during the winter window, when there was an injury crisis.

There were sme talks with the Frenchman’s entourage but in the end the Rossoneri brought back Matteo Gabbia and deemed that to be enough. Lacroix’s profile, however, is one that has already been in the Rossoneri’s orbit for some time.

The paper adds that Antonio D’Ottavio – the sporting director – has been in Germany in recent days to take a closer look at Lacroix which proves that Milan’s interest in the player exists and is concrete. As always, the success of an operation depends on the parameters.

Lacroix is ​​now valued at around €20m. In 2020 he was bought from Sochaux for €5m but his growth in Germany has seen this price quadruple. His deal with Wolfsburg will expire in 2025 and this will allow the Rossoneri to try get a discount, given they risk losing him for free next year.

There is also Italian competition for the player, in particular from Juventus. Among the other profiles that Milan are monitoring is Alessandro Buongiorno of Torino, though his asking price is much higher.