Pervis Estupinan is back up for sale after a poor pre-season, and according to Daniele Longo, the collapse of his summer move to Aston Villa came down to a €2m gap between the clubs rather than a straight call from Amorim.
The Ecuadorian arrived with plenty of expectation, but the pre-season tour of Australia and Indonesia did little to convince, and the question fans keep returning to is why Milan didn't cash in when a Premier League buyer was ready.
Three weeks ago, Matteo Moretto reported that Estupinan was close to joining Aston Villa in a deal worth €15m. The move then stalled, and the full-back instead travelled with the squad on tour.
In his latest YouTube video, Longo laid out why the transfer never went through. "You keep asking me, 'but why didn't Milan sell him to Aston Villa?'. Listen, there was an offer on the table worth €15m. The player had reached a hefty agreement with the club and would happily have moved there," he said.
The distance between the two clubs was small but decisive. "The deal wasn't closed because €2m were hanging in the balance, Aston Villa didn't want to reach the €17m requested. Milan became a little frustrated with this and Amorim simply said 'Okay, let's test him during the tour and see if he can be useful'," Longo explained.
That trial did not go the way Milan hoped. "In reality, it's clear that he does more damage than good, and he's up for sale once again," he added.
So Milan held out for a further €2m, watched the buyer walk, and now find themselves trying to move on a player worth less after a pre-season that only hardened the doubts. With Estupinan back on the market, it falls to Tare and the club to find a buyer willing to meet a price that already proved too high for Aston Villa.