#INSERT type:image caption:AC Milan have completed the signing of Alessio Romagnoli from Roma. END#
AC Milan have completed the signing of Alessio Romagnoli from Serie A rivals AS Roma after the central defender passed a medical on Tuesday.
The Rossoneri confirmed the transfer had gone through with a message of welcome from their general manager Adriano Galliani posted on their website before a tweet showed him in his new attire.
Welcome Alessio, red&black until 2020! How does he look with our wonderful colors? #weareacmilan pic.twitter.com/d6lPw08QpQ
- AC Milan (@acmilan) August 11, 2015
A fee of €25 million plus bonuses has reportedly been agreed between the two clubs, who also did business earlier this summer for Andrea Bertolacci, who left Rome for Milan for €20 million.
"Welcome Alessio, you've signed a contract with us until June 30, 2020 and we are really very happy about this," wrote Galliani. "You're a boy -- you're only 20 -- and this is precisely why we believe that you have all the time to become a symbol of our club, one of those players who treats the ball in a way traditional to the greatest defenders from the Rossoneri school.
"One of those players who towers above the San Siro. A strong hug from all of us at Milan and Forza Alessio."
The Italy under-21 defender, who was excused from the national team's trip to Hungary to be able to make the move to Milan, arrived at the city's Linate airport on Tuesday morning.
"It's such an emotional time for me, I'm at the biggest club in the world, the one which has won the most titles," he told reporters, including acmilan.com. "Now it's up to me to do well. If I can, I will take the No. 13 shirt -- I'm flattered by the comparisons with a great player like [Alessandro] Nesta, but it will take a lot of work to become like him.
"[Milan coach Sinisa] Mihajlovic told me that if he had the chance, he would bring me here with him. I want to give the team a hand and I'll try to give it the best I can; all that I've got. I had a good relationship with [Roma coach Rudy] Garcia and he said he wanted to keep hold of me, but for many reasons the club has decided to sell me and I wanted to join Milan."
Milan made their move for Romagnoli before defensive deficiencies were laid bare at the recent Audi Cup in Munich. An initial bid of €25 million was rejected by Roma, but an agreement was finally struck on Monday night.
Romagnoli's arrival takes Milan's spending to over €80 million this summer as the last team to win Serie A before Juventus' four-year domination rebuild after finishing 10th last term.