The London club has been dealt with a huge blow when AC Milan stated that Carlos Bacca is not for sale. The Colombia international is a popular figure at the San Siro and has been a driving force behind their charge to the top half of the Serie A table.
Carlos Bacca came close to leaving AC Milan for West Ham at a fee of around £26 million during the summer but the striker snubbed the deal despite lengthy talks between the two clubs representatives.
West Ham had to find another striking option and they did so in Simone Zaza, however the Italian, on loan from Juventus has been a disastrous signing without netting for the Hammers in 11 appearances. His poor form in England may see him move to Valencia during the winter transfer window.
Bacca, on the other hand, has netted six times in 13 appearances for Milan and the 30-year-old seems to be going nowhere much to the delight of the Milan fans.
“Bacca is not for sale. I repeat, he is absolutely off the market,” Milan CEO Adriano Galliani told Mediaset Premium (via The Sun)
However, Galliani confirmed the club was interested in signing Chelsea youngster Mario Pasalic on a permanent basis.
Pasalic has impressed Milan on loan so far this season and, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante ahead of him in the pecking order could find things tough back at Stamford Bridge.
The 21-year-old Croatian has started in the last four games for the Rossoneri and Galliani has wished to extend his contract beyond the end of the season.
“Pasalic is a player who did well at youth level, but his progress was stalled by injuries,” Galliani added.
“He can come back to being what he was. In Croatia, Pasalic is considered to be on the same level as Luka Modric, who is one of the best midfielders in the world. We had this opportunity, we do have the option to buy and we’ll see what to do next summer.” said Galliani.