AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu breaks silence on his future amid Chelsea transfer links
Turkey international Hakan Calhanoglu has refused to be drawn to claims linking him with a summer move to the Premier League, with both Arsenal and Chelsea interested in the AC Milan ace.
The 27-year-old attacking-midfielder, who will be hoping to get Turkey off to a flying start when they face Italy in the opening game of Euro 2020 this evening, is out-of-contract at the San Siro at the end of this month and has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.
Back in April it was reported by Sky Italy that both Arsenal and Chelsea were interested in signing the former Bayer Leverkusen man, who has been with Milan since 2017.
It was reported that Calhanoglu wants a contract worth up to €5million a year, but Milan are only willing to offer him a deal worth €4million a year, meaning he has refused to sign a new deal at the San Siro.
That has led to interest from an array of clubs across Europe, including Arsenal and Chelsea, especially the former, who are desperate to add a new attacking-midfielder to their ranks this summer as a matter of urgency.
Mikel Arteta, the Gunners head coach, is desperate to find a replacement for Martin Odegaard, who recently returned to Real Madrid following a loan spell in north London, even though Arteta is keen to re-sign the Norway international.
But with speculation rife about his future, Calhanoglu has been forced to play down the reports about his next move, insisting he is fully focused on Turkey’s Euro 2020 campaign.
“I spoke to Paolo Maldini [Milan’s technical director] three days ago, he called me and we spoke about AC Milan,” Calhanoglu said ahead of tonight’s Euro 2020 curtain raiser.
“I wish to focus on Turkey…I have great respect for Ricky Massara [Milan’s director of football] and Maldini and if something does come to pass, then I will talk to them.”
Although Calhanoglu is yet to commit his future to Milan, talks between the two parties are reportedly still ongoing, suggesting that the Serie A outfit are not giving up hope on the prospect of losing him for free in a few weeks time.
Calhanoglu, though, is not the only attacking-midfielder to have been linked with Arsenal recently, with Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt and Nabil Fekir of Real Betis also having been linked with a movetotheEmiratesStadium.
