Atalanta best player offered to Milan twice
In two different occasions in the past Atalanta playmaker Josip Ilicic has been offered to AC Milan who rejected his services.
Josip Ilicic is one of the many players that coach Gian Piero Gasperini has managed to transform at Atalanta into an absolute star. The current seasons is without a doubt Ilicic and Atalanta’s best. The Slovenian playmaker is 32-years-old and is experiencing the best years of his career.
The Slovenian attacking midfielder was brought to Italy from Palermo in summer 2010 together with his compatriot Armin Bacinovic, who is now without a club. After three seasons in Sicily, Ilicic moved to Fiorentina and spent four years there. In 2017, Atalanta signed him for less than 6 million euros.
Sporting director Giorgio Perinetti in an interview with Radio Musica Television (via MilanLive.it), revealed a backstory concerning Josip Ilicic: “In the past I offered him to Filippo Inzaghi’s Milan. Now I think he will have important requests from top European clubs in the summer. However, in the past he was one of those players gifted with extraordinary talent but lacked continuity“.
Perinetti is referring to the 2014/2015 season, when Milan was coached by Filippo Inzaghi. That team did well in the first half of the championship, but then collapsed in the second. Ilicic played for Fiorentina and there he often faced criticisms for lacking continuity in his performances. Few expected him to become the footballer we are admiring today.
The former Palermo and Fiorentina was also offered to AC Milan a second time but again the Rossoneri rejected his services. After a historic third spot last season, Atlanta are again in the top four. Atlanta stunned Europe scoring 8 goals against Valencia and qualifying for the quarter-finals of Champions League. In one of those game Josip Ilicic scored 4 goals while in total he has found the back of the net on 21 occasions and has provided 9 assists in 29 appearances.
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