Premier League high-flyers Crystal Palace missed out on so many right-backs after Aaron Wan-Bissaka went to Manchester United.
AC Milan right-back Andrea Conti turned down the chance to move to Crystal Palace over the summer and decided instead to stay and fight for his place at the San Siro, the Italian international’s agent has told MilanNews.
It is no secret that Palace were desperate to reinforce their right-hand flank before the transfer window slammed shut in August, following the departure of academy graduate Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United.
The Eagles were linked with the likes of Timothy Castagne, Max Aarons and James Justin but missed out on each and every one of their targets, meaning Roy Hodgson has been forced to rely on the long-serving yet limited Joel Ward.
And, according to Italian agent Mario Giuffredi, Conti is another talented right-back who gave a potential move to Selhurst Park the short shrift.
“In the summer he had Parma, Werder Bremen, Crystal Palace, SPAL, and other teams, at least five or six proposals,” Giuffredi has admitted.
“But he insisted on staying here at Milan.”
The jet-heeled Conti was one of the most talented young full-backs in Europe when he joined Milan from Atalanta for a fee of around £20 million as part of that remarkable summer overhaul of 2017.
But the 25-year-old is yet to really live up to expectations at the seven-time European champions, having suffered a cruciate ligament injury just a matter of weeks into his Milan career. Conti is back to full fitness now, however, and desperate to make up for lost time as Stefano Pioli aims to drag the fallen giants up from the depths of Serie A.
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