The penalty saved from Dybala has put the Rossoneri goalkeeper back in the spotlight; thanks to his saves, he has already earned the team several points this season. For now, contract renewal talks remain at a standstill, and a departure (with Chelsea in the lead) seems likely, but one last attempt will be made

In the post-match press conference following the game against Roma, Massimiliano Allegri distanced himself from the situation: “How did I convince Maignan to stay? It definitely wasn’t me. The credit goes to Claudio Filippi, one of the best fitness coaches around. And then the club, which really wanted to keep him.” White lies, as such, do no harm. But, based on what had been understood throughout the summer, Mike’s short-term future had unfolded quite differently. At one point, the Frenchman had become a virtual Chelsea signing, to whom—this must be emphasized—he had even said yes. The deal didn’t materialize solely because the two clubs hadn’t reached a financial agreement: with a year left on his contract, the fee the Rossoneri were asking for was deemed excessive by the Blues. And so—this must also be emphasized—if that agreement had been reached, Mike would be between the posts at Stamford Bridge right now. Once the deal with Chelsea fell through and as the weeks went by, that’s when the Rossoneri club rightly made it a priority to secure their goalkeeper. And Allegri, even if he publicly plays it down, certainly played a role. How can you blame him, though: in a Milan side that needed to be rebuilt from the ground up, Maignan was one of the key figures. A recognized and recognizable leader on the field, in training, and in the locker room.

Against Roma, after saving Dybala’s penalty, the Meazza crowd let out a roar louder than the one for Pavlovic’s goal, and his teammates swarmed Mike with hugs. It’s unlikely, however—very unlikely—that this sense of satisfaction will carry over in the coming weeks to the fourth floor of Via Aldo Rossi. In that room where players are handed a pen and a sheet of paper to sign on the table. Nothing new from this perspective, and in this case, “no news is good news” is a saying that’s totally inappropriate. The issue resurfaces every time Maignan becomes “Magic.” For example, as in Turin against Juve (Gatti), in Bergamo (Zappacosta), and, indeed, against Roma. Super saves that squeeze out real points from the standings, as if they were goals. It’s only logical, then, that as time goes on, his contractual situation stands out more and more. Mike’s contract is expiring, and in two months he’ll be free to negotiate with another club where he can take up residence starting in July. There are no signs of progress at the moment; the stalemate continues, and what was once a dialogue has been frozen for some time now. The paths of the player and the club are inexorably heading toward a parting of ways, even if Milan will try to make one last attempt. A renewal offer (through 2028) had already been put on the table for the Frenchman a year ago, with a salary increase from 2.8 to 5 million. But then it was Milan itself that slowed things down. And now Maignan seems quite determined to rekindle his relationship with Chelsea (but keep an eye on Bayern and Juve as well). The Rossoneri are obviously looking around, and have been for some time. The first names to end up in Tare’s notebook were those of Noah Atubolu (Freiburg) and Zion Suzuki (Parma).