Beijing time on July 7, according to AC Milan reporter Longo, Daniel Maldini, son of Milan legendary captain and former Milan technical director Paolo Maldini, is still unable to return to Milan this summer, and he will continue to be loaned out with a buyout clause. This also means that Daniel Maldini's departure is a foregone conclusion.
A descendant of the Maldini family, Daniel Maldini is naturally a well-established Milanese who came through the Milan Academy and made his Milan first-team debut as early as the 2019/20 season. In the 2021/22 season, Daniel Maldini played 13 games for Milan, starting three times and scoring one goal to help the team win the Serie A title. However, due to lack of space in the team, he was loaned to Spezia last summer.
Last season, Daniel Maldini made 20 appearances for Spezia, starting four times and scoring three goals, including a goal against AC Milan, which he refused to celebrate after the goal as a sign of respect for Milan. At the end of the season, Daniel Maldini's loan contract with Spezia ended, but Milan are now out of the ordinary, and his desire to return to San Siro seems to have become a luxury.
This summer, AC Milan's investor Redbird Capital sacked technical director Paolo Maldini, a decision that left some Milan fans deeply upset. With the departure of Paolo Maldini, Daniel Maldini's career at Milan is basically over, Redbird Capital will not keep the fledgling youngster, and coach Pioli is also reluctant to give him a chance, and the three generations of the Maldini family will end this summer.
According to Longo, Redbird Capital hopes to send Daniel Maldini away by loan and buyout, and this time the always budget-conscious Redbird Capital only set him a buyout fee of 5 million euros, although with a 6 million euro buyback clause, Milan is basically unlikely to buy him back. It can also be seen that the current Redbird Capital wants to "solve" Daniel Maldini as soon as possible, even if the return is small.
Although the 21-year-old Daniel Maldini can't secure a place at Milan, some mid-middle and lower Serie A teams still look after him, and Empoli, who is good at developing young players, is one of them. Empoli, who runs a small business, is good at discovering young talents and dares to let young players stand alone, so joining Empoli is not a bad thing for Daniel Maldini, who is in the "rising ball" stage, and he should also play every game down-to-earth and grow up as soon as possible.