The verdict on Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana and Santiago Giménez is not a fallout that could be patched up in a few weeks. Cardinale has closed the door.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the three have been informed that even if no move materialises before the 1 September deadline, they will train apart from the main squad and are not in contention to play. All three were left off Milan’s official squad list for the league season.

Giménez closest to a Porto exit

Giménez is the furthest down the road to leaving. Porto have already reached personal terms with the Mexico striker, with negotiations now focused on how a loan-to-buy is structured.

Milan want a €20m purchase option, rejecting an earlier Porto proposal that offered more favourable conversion terms. The 25-year-old cost €30.2m plus add-ons from Feyenoord in February 2025 and has scored sparingly since.

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Fofana wanted in the Premier League

Fofana’s route out is less advanced. Milan are asking €15m to €20m for the France midfielder, with the club having placed him outside Amorim’s plans this summer.

Brighton have joined Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in registering interest, according to reports relayed from Sky Sport 24. None of the three English clubs has yet made a formal offer. Fofana has turned down a return to Ligue 1 and is understood to prefer England if he moves.

Tomori boxed in by his contract

Tomori’s situation is the most awkward. The England defender’s contract runs to 2027 on around €3.5m net per year, and Milan cannot send him out on loan without a renewal, which he has not signed. That has narrowed the pool of realistic buyers.

Aston Villa, looking for a defender after Ezri Konsa’s move to Arsenal, remain the most concrete option. Milan are hoping to bank around €15m. Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Club Brugge’s Joel Ordóñez sit ahead of Tomori on Villa’s list, so the move depends on those pursuits stalling.

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Amorim’s rebuild leaves them stranded

The three are casualties of Amorim’s arrival. The Portuguese coach was appointed in June, and his 3-4-2-1 has reshaped what Milan want from each position: a ball-playing centre-back rather than Tomori, a different midfield profile from Fofana, and a striker cast in the mould of club-record signing Gonçalo Ramos rather than Giménez.

If none of the three has moved by Tuesday, they will stay on the wage bill, train away from the first team and remain barred from selection until the January window opens.

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