AC Milan target Axel Witsel expressed his disappointment at failing to secure a move away from Zenit St. Petersburg this summer, indicating that he would be available for transfer when theEuropean market reopens in January. “It was important for Zenit to keep me right now,” the 26-year-old Belgian center midfielder said. “It wasn’t a question of money — on a sporting level itwould have been a big loss for Zenit at the moment. You don’t want to lose one of the most important players in your team in the last days of the transfer window and you wouldn’t have had time to geta replacement either.”