Luka Modric is expected to put pen to paper on a new one-year contract with Milan in the coming week, keeping the veteran midfielder at the club for another season.
The detail worth understanding here is why it's a new contract rather than a straightforward renewal. When Modric arrived last summer, the deal was structured as one year with an option for a second. That option quietly lapsed at the end of last month, which is why the two sides have technically been negotiating a fresh agreement to cover this season rather than simply triggering what was already on the table.
The new contract is expected to be signed next week on the same terms discussed, a one-year deal worth around €3.5m net per season, according to Pietro Balzano Prota of MilanVibes.
For Massimiliano Allegri's side, keeping Modric is about more than minutes on the pitch. At 40, the Croatian is not going to start every week, and with Europa League football on the calendar this season, the squad will be managed differently than a campaign ago when there was no midweek European commitment. His value is in the dressing room and in the big moments, the kind of experience a squad leaning younger doesn't otherwise have.
That last point is the honest one. Modric will likely play less than he did last term, and the renewal is a signal that Milan see him as a rotation piece and a steadying presence rather than a guaranteed starter.
Getting a former Ballon d'Or winner to commit again on modest money is smart housekeeping, and the paperwork should be done inside the week.