Tiago Gabriel has been left out of the Lecce starting line‑up for their game against Lecce, and it is for transfer‑related reasons.

Milan are still hoping to sign a new central defender in the final week of the summer transfer window, and Gabriel is one of the players that has been linked most, along with Goncalo Inacio of Sporting CP.

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The news broke on Saturday that Inacio was left out by Sporting, which was taken as a big transfer hint, and now the same thing has happened with his compatriot in Lecce’s opener against Venezia.

Despite being a key defender for the Salento side, he will not start. The reason is because of ongoing transfer speculation concerning the centre‑back.

Fabrizio Romano (via MilanNews) writes: "Tiago Gabriel won’t start for Lecce today. The defender is at the centre of the transfer market and it will be a week of discussions: no risk on the pitch, evaluations are ongoing."

Gabriel is a client of the agent Jorge Mendes which is another reason he has been strongly linked with Milan in recent weeks. However, there has been no talk of an official bid being presented to this point, even if he was offered up.