Milan eyeing move for Brighton midfielder Ayari to replace Modric
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Yasin Ayari of Brighton & Hove Albion looks on during the warm up before the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on September 16, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Reports in Italy claim that Milan are eyeing a future move for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yasin Ayari to strengthen Ruben Amorim’s midfield, which could lose the veteran Luka Modric and several other options at the end of the 2026-27 season.
Report: Milan want Brighton’s Ayari, valued at €40m
Milan have a healthy level of competition in their current midfield department, which includes Modric, Adrien Rabiot, the resurgent Yunus Musah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ardon Jashari, not forgetting youngster Christian Comotto.
This could change next summer, though, as 41-year-old Modric is into the final year of his contract and could call it a day on his playing career in the summer. Even if he continues playing, another contract extension at San Siro seems unlikely.
Reports from Calciomercato.com hint that Loftus-Cheek’s days with Milan could be coming to an end. Jashari, who has struggled to nail down a spot since joining the Rossoneri last summer, is not guaranteed to stay with Milan into the 2027-28 season at this stage.
This leaves Milan already looking at potential midfield reinforcements just a few games into the 2026-27 season, and reports from Tuttosport claim that Brighton’s Ayari is at the top of the Rossoneri wishlist.
Milan have reportedly been following Ayari since the early stages of 2025 when Geoffrey Moncada was still in his position as technical director.
Ayari has become a crucial part of Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton midfield in the early stages of 2026-27 and has already netted his first goal of the Premier League season in a 5-0 hammering of his former club Coventry City.
Ayari put in a particularly encouraging performance and scored twice in a pre-season friendly between Brighton and Roma in July, attended by Football Italia.
Ayari himself is into the final year of his contract with Brighton, expiring on June 30, 2027, but the club has an option to automatically extend by a further 12 months.
This means that the Sweden international is still valued in the region of €40m according to the latest reports in Italy.
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