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Clichy has two years left on the contract he signed two years
ago and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is considering cashing in on the
23 year old French left-back.
Since returning from a stress fracture of the back, Clichy has
struggled to regain his best form. His status as first choice
left-back will be under threat when Kieran Gibbs returns from his
broken foot.
When Clichy was first out action in the autumn, rising England
Under-21 star Gibbs replaced him impressively.
By the start of next season, Wenger is likely to see Gibbs as
first choice and, with Armand Traore offering decent cover, Wenger
would not hesitate in trading Clichy for a substantial
fee.
Last summer, Real Madrid were reportedly prepared to pay £16
million for Clichy. At the time, the player insisted he wanted to
stay at Arsenal but he will have to re-asses his future in the
summer especially as Wenger would jump at that sort of fee now that
Gibbs is maturing.
Clichy is unlikely to be able to negotiate a new deal that would
push him higher up the salary scale at Arsenal.
And he is well aware of the £80,000 a week wages former Gunner
and close friend Mathieu Flamini commands in Milan as a squad
player.
Milan are in urgent need of a new left-back having replaced
veteran Paolo Maldini, who eventually retired last year, with
38-year-old Giuseppe Favalli.