Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have reportedly been dealt a blow in their pursuit of AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer.
The Algerian left the Emirates Stadium in 2017 to sign for Empoli before securing a £15m move to Milan, where he has featured 126 times for the Italian champions.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the club have made a breakthrough in contract negotiations with the 25-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer.
According to the report, discussions are being handled by Enzo Raiola, who is expected to secure his client a salary of €4m (£3.5m) per season plus bonuses, a big increase on his current €1.5m (£1.3m) per season.
Milan return to Italy tomorrow from their Dubai training camp and the outlet claims that an announcement could come shortly afterwards.
The former Arsenal man has scored one goal and assisted one in 15 league appearances so far this season.
