Kevin-Prince Boateng set for Milan Return
His contract with Bundesliga club Schalke 04 having been terminated, Kevin-Prince Boateng has been cleared to rejoin AC Milan next month.
Boateng has already been training and playing friendlies with the Serie A outfit for the past several months. The attacking midfielder and brother of World Cup winner Jerome Boateng initially left Milan to join Schalke back in 2013.
The 28-year-old has been suspended since May, however, with the Bundesliga outfit citing a “lack of mutual trust” between the two parties.
A statement on the club’s website confirmed that “Schalke 04 and Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng have decided to mutually terminate his contract at the club.”
Boateng made 60 appearances for the Royal Blues and scored seven goals.
Prior to joining Schalke, Boateng spent three seasons with Milan, scoring 10 goals in 74 appearances. It was at Milan that Boateng changed his playing style from that of a defensive midfielder to more of an attacking one.
During his previous spell at Milan, Boateng came on as a sub and scored three goals in 14 minutes in a 2011 match against Lecce, becoming the first player ever to score a hat-trick in Serie A as a sub.
The Ghanaian national, who is capable of playing either as an attacking midfielder or a forward, is expected to sign a short-term contract until the end of the season, with the possibility of an extension should he impress Rossoneri manager Sinisa Mihajlovic.
After a disappointing run of results, Milan are currently languishing in eighth place in the Serie A table. However former Milan defender Gianluca Zambrotta has restated his belief that the club will reach its stated objective of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
“It’s not going to be simple, but it is doable,” Zambrotta told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It looks a bit harder to go any higher than that, but it’s a strange season and we’re going to have a lot more fun from it yet.”
Milan’s next Serie A outing will see the club welcome last-placed Hellas Verona to the San Siro this weekend.
Watch AC Milan vs. Hellas Verona at 8:55am ET Sunday on beINSports.