Milan Set To Miss Out As Juventus On Verge Of Signing Gallas From Arsenal

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Former Arsenal captain William Gallas is edging closer to a switch to Serie A, with Juventus director of sport Alessio Secco flying into London to thrash out a deal with new Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, according to the Daily Mail.

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri knows all about 31-year-old Gallas, having signed the French International from Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2001, while the Italian was in charge at Chelsea. Reports in Italy claim that Secco met Gazidis at Chelsea’s Champions League match against Cluj at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to finalise a deal to make the Frenchman a La Vecchia Signora player.

Gallas is widely expected to leave the Emirates Stadium in January, having been stripped of the captaincy at the Premier League club by manager Arsene Wenger after an outburst in the media criticising his team mates at the North London club.

While it would appear that Juventus are leading the race to sign Gallas, Serie A, rivals AC Milan are also reportedly interested in the defender, with the Rossoneri keen to bring Gallas to the San Siro. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has identified Gallas as the man to replace veteran defenders Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, who are both coming to the end of distinguished football careers at Milan.