Udinese director reveals background on Milan’s attempt for Samardzic

Udinese director Gianluca Nani has shed some light on AC Milan’s failed attempt to sign Lazar Samardzic this summer with the Serbian midfielder eventually signing for Atalanta instead.

Speaking to TMW (via Milan News), Nani explained how the market panned out for Udinese and one of the major stories was the departure of Samardzic.

He has been very close to leaving the club in the past with Inter being the most likely destination, but this summer it seemed almost certain at one stage that he would sign for Milan and form part of Paulo Fonseca’s midfield.

Despite how close the transfer seemed, Nani says that Milan never actually started an official negotiation for Samardzic and the move quickly went through when Atalanta matched the price that Udinese wanted.

“Milan had made inquiries, yes, but we never started a real negotiation. Atalanta instead made the right offer, they were the club that wanted the player the most,” Nani said.

It seems likely that had Milan been able to sell Ismael Bennacer late in the transfer window, they would have then made a more definitive move for Samardzic.

The departure of Teun Koopmeiners to Juventus allowed Atalanta to act swiftly and sign the Serbian who certainly did not want to risk the transfer window closing before he managed to secure a move away, and he has still moved up the table and into the Champions league.