AC Milan complete €32m Gimenez deal on deadline day
Santiago Gimenez has left Feyenoord for Milan and could face his former club in the next round of the Champions League later this month.
AC Milan have signed Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord in a €32million swoop, with the Mexico international signing a four-and-a-half-year contract at San Siro.
Gimenez, who was born in Argentina but moved to Mexico as a child and has won 32 caps for El Tri, scoring four times, joined Feyenoord from Cruz Azul in July 2022.
He scored 65 goals in 105 appearances for the Dutch club, helping them win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 and the KNVB Cup last season.
He netted 23 times in 30 Eredivisie outings last term, with only 12 players bettering that figure across Europe's top 10 leagues.
According to Italian media reports, Milan have agreed to pay €32m for Gimenez, who becomes their second signing of the mid-season transfer window after Kyle Walker's arrival on loan from Manchester City.
The striker, who has netted 16 times in 19 games this season, will take the number seven shirt left vacant by Alvaro Morata, who left for Galatasaray on Sunday on a year-long loan deal.
He could face a swift reunion with his former club in the Champions League, with Milan and Feyenoord paired together for the knockout phase play-off round.
Milan go to the Netherlands for the first leg of that tie on February 12, with the return fixture taking place six days later.
While players that moved in January were unable to represent their new clubs in the final league-phase games, they are eligible to play in the next round.
Milan are also reportedly close to signing Joao Felix on loan from Chelsea.
The Rossoneri, who drew 1-1 with Inter in Sunday's derby, are eighth in the Serie A table and will face Roma in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.