AC Milan, USMNT's Antonee Robinson can't complete Deadline Day transfer
United States men’s national team defender Antonee Robinson won’t be joining seven-time European champion AC Milan after all.
A day after the rather surprising news broke that the Italian titans had agreed to purchase the speedy left back from English second-tier struggler Wigan Athletic, the deal fell apart at the final hurdle, Wigan announced on Deadline Day.
Robinson had traveled to on Milan Friday morning in anticipation of the move. He had taken his physical. However, “further medical tests with the Italian authorities were required, which were subject to a 72-hour deadline,” Wigan’s statement read. With Italy’s transfer window closing at 8 p.m. local time [2 p.m. ET], there wasn’t enough time to get the deal across the line.
The last-minute collapse has to be hugely disappointing for the Liverpool-born Robinson, who has American citizenship through his father. Milan’s haul of European titles is second only to Real Madrid’s. But the club has fallen on relatively tough times in recent years, and is currently eighth in Serie A. Wigan, meantime, sits 22nd in the 24-team Championship and is in danger of being relegated to the country’s third division.
Robinson has earned six caps with the USMNT, all of them in 2018. He has spent most of the last two years with the U.S. under-23 squad that in March will attempt to break the country’s 12-year Olympic drought by qualifying for this summer’s games in Tokyo.
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