AC Milan's sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli has not given up hope of signing Andrea Belotti from Torino, saying that he would still like to make the Italy international's dream come true.
The Rossoneri had tried to convince Torino to sell Belotti in the summer before turning their attention to Nikola Kalinic.
Belotti, 23, has a clause in his contract which would allow him to join any club abroad for €100 million. While there is no similar clause for a move to an Italian club, Torino refused to listen to inferior offers over the summer, but Mirabelli has not given up on trying to convince them to sell when the transfer market is open again.
"We tried to bring Belotti to Milan," Mirabelli told Radio Rossonera. "It was quite difficult for a variety of reasons, but he's a player who is a Milan fan and maybe one day he will get to wear the colours he has dreamed about since he was a child."
Belotti was Serie A's third highest scorer last season with 26 goals, placing him behind Roma's Edin Dzeko (29) and Napoli's Dries Mertens (28).
He has scored three in seven Serie A outings this season, but will now miss several weeks due to a knee injury which may also rule him out of Italy's World Cup playoff next month, having already forced him out of their last two qualifiers against Macedonia and Albania.
Mirabelli also gave his backing to coach Vincenzo Montella and rejected rumours that had linked the Rossoneri with a move for Chelsea manager Antonio Conte in the summer.