AC Milan have plunged not only their own transfer plans into doubt this summer but also those of settled players and other teams.
In what emerged as a shocking revelation just 24 hours after the culmination of their Serie A season - one that saw Stefano Piolo's side finish fourth and reach the Champions League semi-finals - former defender and European great Paolo Maldini was sacked from his role as Sporting Director.
Alongside him, Frederic Massara was also dismissed from his director of sport role. The pair were a serious duo and helped Milan go from outsiders to league winners as well as Champions League competitors once more.
Only this month they were able to secure an extension for key winger Rafael Leao as speculation surrounding his future continued to boil on. In what was an extremely brief, Antonio Conte sacked by Chelsea-esque statement, Milan's plans have been thrown up into the air.
The repercussions are yet to be truly felt but the wide felt shock of the situation is also still settling in. Italian football, even during its most successful year for over a decade, is still plunged into controversy. Directors are being removed, others are cementing themselves in place despite interest elsewhere and Scudetto winning managers are leaving.
The man responsible for this, and as a by-product potentially the butt of frustration from Chelsea and their supporters, is RedBird Capital CEO Gerry Cardinale. As runner of the investment firm owning Milan, he is said to have had some issues with Maldini and his relationship with Stefano Pioli throughout the season.
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His hopes for the club were reportedly at odds with the Milan hierarchy and therefore a cut-off was needed. For Chelsea this could cost them dearly in more than one way.
Not only had they been close to agreeing a move away for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, football.london has learnt, but they were also involved with several other potential transfers. Loftus-Cheek was the nearest to being completed, he had his farewell at Stamford Bridge ahead of expecting to leave over the summer, that is now nowhere near as certain.
Depending on the direction of Milan's new plans, Chelsea may have to reconsider plenty, meanwhile Mauricio Pochettino is left in limbo whilst things are sorted. He is hoping for quick sales before pre-season in order to cut his squad down drastically before heading off to America in July.
There is also a soft deadline for outgoings of June 30 for the Blues if they are to best take advantage of accounting deals in this financial year after a massive outlay across the past 12 months. That date is closing in now with no sales yet sorted and Loftus-Cheek's future stuck in the mud.
It's not him that may have to wait, either. Christian Pulisic is also a target for Milan and was offered in a loan deal last summer. The American remains an option this time around. Hakim Ziyech is in the same boat. He was also on the loan list for Milan one year ago and is looking for a way out of his purgatory time at Stamford Bridge.
Between them is a small price to pay for permanent deals now their contracts are run down. Pulisic has a tiny £20million valuation whilst Ziyech is said to be just £8.5million by CIES. Loftus-Cheek is more valuable at £13million but still not a large sum for a player of his experience.
Heading the other way could be France shot-stopper Mike Maignan. The 27-year-old is on Chelsea's shortlist of goalkeeping options to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy in Pochettino's goal. He is said to be amongst a group of players at San Siro that are less than impressed with the events at the club and are no longer sure where they stand.
As a France international he is set to command at least four times the £13million Milan paid Lille for him in 2021.
Remarkably, Leao himself is said to also be confused at the turn of events. He has been a long-term target since joining from Lille and was the subject of talks between the two clubs last summer. He reportedly has a £146.4million release clause in his newly signed deal. It would take quite the U-turn to see him exit so quickly after committing himself to the Rossoneri but this is a time for unexpected events, afterall.
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