Okafor risks Milan freeze out after failed RB Leipzig transfer | OneFootball

Noah Okafor is at risk of being cut from the Milan squad in both Serie A and the Champions League after his proposed move to RB Leipzig collapsed earlier in the week.

Okafor had flown over to Germany at the beginning of the week in order to have a medical with RB Leipzig ahead of a proposed loan move with a €25m buy option. He bid farewell to the Rossoneri supporters with a message: “Sempre Milan, you never know in life, maybe you’ll see me again.”

Nobody expected, however, that the reunion would come less than 24 hours later. During his medical, Leipzig discovered that he would not be available to play immediately and therefore decided to cancel his loan. Okafor returned to Italy the following day.

Why Milan could cut Okafor from Serie A and Champions League squads

AC Milan’s Swiss forward #17 Noah Okafor celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Italian Serie A football match between Unione Sportiva Sassuolo and AC Milan at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, on April 14, 2024. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP) (Photo by PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty Images)

However, now that he is back in Milan, and with the Rossoneri actively looking to add new players to Sergio Conceicao’s roster, Okafor risks being cut for the remainder of the season.

Milan are closing in on a deal with Kyle Walker from Manchester City, and are also looking to bring in a new forward this month, with Chelsea’s Joao Felix and Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna the latest names to be linked with a move to San Siro.

Serie A has a squad limit of 25 players, eight of whom must have been trained in Italy and/or at the club as youth players, which leaves 17 slots open for foreign players.

As Milan’s Serie A squad is currently full, they will need to either cut somebody from their list, or make a sale before the end of the January transfer window. That will need to happen twice over if the Rossoneri sign more than one player this month.

Manchester City’s Kyle Walker during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Etihad Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

It is a similar situation in the Champions League. Milan’s European squad is also full, but they will have an opportunity to make alterations to their list at the end of the league phase.

According to updates from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Okafor is among the most likely names to be dropped from the Milan squad, along with Luka Jovic.

There is also still a possibility that Fikayo Tomori is sold or loaned to Juventus for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, which would also free up a space on the Rossoneri squad lists.