AC Milan strengthens defence with Musacchio signing

AC Milan signed Mateo Musacchio from Villarreal on Tuesday after he had a medical with the Rossoneri last week.

The centre-back, 26, joins for a fee of around €18 million, according to ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell, and ends a spell of eight years in Castellon. He's inked a four-year contract in Milan.

Musacchio holds an Italian passport through his grandparents so he won't trouble the non-EU quota, despite representing his native Argentina on six occasions.

Musacchio is viewed as a competent ball-playing centre-half who reads the game well when defending. He made his first strides in football at the tender age of 16 for River Plate.

AC Milan is expected to make wholesale changes to the first-team squad this summer using the windfall received in a recent takeover from a Chinese consortium. It will helpfully bloat Vincenzo Montella's squad in preparation for next season's Europa League campaign - the club's first European adventure since the 2013-14 season.