Janis Antiste made the headlines by scoring against Juventus for Spezia last night, but the striker could have ended up at AC Milan.
Antiste netted against Juve to plunge them back into panic by making it 2-1, and Calciomercato.com recalls how Spezia invested over €4m to snatch him from the competition. Spezia boss Thiago Motta was clear at the start of the season too: the young Frenchman will be a starter, with Manaj to Nzola on the bench.
The teenager had the choice of staying at Toulouse to continue his development or try his luck in a new league, in a different country, with all the unknowns that come with it. Milan had also been a potential destination for him.
In the spring of 2018 he was invited to Milan with his family to visit the facilities, by the will of Stefano Luxoro who was then-head of the Rossoneri youth sector. Although an agreement had been reached in principle, Antiste’s family wanted the footballer to finish school in France.
Milan were also linked this summer and his name was on Ricky Massara’s wish list, but he had Amine Adli as his first choice, also of Toulouse. In the end neither arrived, and Spezia swooped for Antiste.
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