Mexes to reject Liverpool in favour of Serie A stay
Published:Liverpool seem set to miss out on the summer signing of Philippe Mexes after the French defender has indicated that he intends to remain in Serie A for the foreseeable future.
Mexes’ current contract with Roma is set to expire in the summer and with no deal expected to be signed, a host of top European clubs have been circling with the aim of landing him on a free transfer.
Premier League interest has been strong with clubs including Arsenal and Liverpool seeing their names linked, but it now appears that AC Milan is most likely to be his summer destination.
Mexes told Canal+: “I want to remain in the Serie A for as long as I can. I have settled in well in Italy.
“I now know the league quite well and do not want to move away.”
The signing would be of massive benefit to Milan bearing in mind their shortage of options at the heart of their defence, while Alessandro Nesta will turn 35 this year.
Mexes will therefore potentially be a long-term defensive partner to Brazilian Thiago Silva as Milan look to improve upon their squad.
Furthermore, he would become the latest in a line of new recruits at the San Siro in the past season, with successful moves already made for Antonio Cassano, Mark Van Bommel, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho have starred on loan.
These have helped Milan sit two points clear at the top of the table and they are now 1/1 in the Serie A odds to win the title.
For Liverpool, Mexes’ decision may come as a bit of a blow, but it is believed that he was considered to be a fall-back option in any case, with Bolton’s Gary Cahill their leading summer defensive target.
However, with Bolton wanting £15m for the England international, Liverpool are still weighing up whether this deal is worth pursuing.
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