Mike Maignan has arrived at La Madonnina for his medical visit with Milan to complete a €15m transfer from LOSC Lille. Check out the player profile.
The 25-year-old French goalkeeper has arrived in Italy for his medical examinations and could be soon signing a contract with the Rossoneri.
The goalkeeper arrived through a secondary entrance, as Milan didn’t want to give media exposure to the player’s arrival, Sky Sport Italia reports.
Reports in Italy suggested Milan were not optimistic about keeping Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma and had thus negotiated a deal with Lille for €15m plus bonuses.
Maignan arrives from a successful season in Ligue 1, where he played an important part in helping Lille stop Paris Saint-Germains dominance and secure his first trophy so far.
The former PSG player kept 21 clean sheets in 38 League games, conceding only 23 goals in the process.
He has a particular eye on the French goalkeeper, who grew up in the outskirts of Paris and has been playing for Lille since 2015, when he moved from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €1m.
PSG chose to go with Alphonse Areola and sold Maignan to Lille, where the latter made his debut due to Vincent Enyeama’s sending off against Stade Rennais.
But after getting his chance in the first team, Maignan hurt his shoulder and remained a back-up for two seasons, before his turning point came in 2017-18.
Marcelo Bielsa was the coach who saw the real potential in Maignan and the qualities of a modern goalkeeper, who knows how to play even with his feet.
Christophe Galtier replaced Bielsa, but kept Mike in goal and LOSC Lille started flying, with a second place in Ligue 1.
Maignan explained to France Football a few years ago that he ‘didn’t want to play in goal’ but aimed to be in a position to score goals.
But at the Clairfontaine academy, he was transformed into a goalkeeper instead of a midfielder, explaining his qualities with both feet.
Maignan has continued to develop and this season he kept former Napoli goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis on the bench and was Lille’s undisputed first choice for the second consecutive term.
And the 25-year-old has been called up to be part of France in Euro 2020 this summer, after helping Lille win their first Ligue 1 title since 2011
Mike Maignan
Age: 25
Country: Cayenne
Citizenship: France
Position: Goalkeeper
League 1 games: 149 Clean sheets: 59
International caps: 1 (France)