[Danny]

How good is Aubameyang? That's the question. Is he worth that much money? Can you call him a marquee player? I have my doubts. If it wasn't for his impressive stats I would be all against it.

So if it wasn't for the fact he's the best striker in the Bundesliga you'd be all against it? That makes two of us (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[d'Arc.LP]

Rumor is that Yonghong Li has just injected extra 70m into our transfer budget to get the next player.

[milanbuf88]

So I have a question guys, I think that it is clear that we are signing one more striker and if that striker is one of Aubameyang, Belotti or Moratta, which one would u sign and how do u rate them? Who is 1st, 2nd and 3rd best according to you?

1. Belotti
2. Aubameyang
3. Morata

It seems as if the transfer fee for all three of them will roughly be in the 80m range but I think Belotti's wage demands will be the lowest so he will cost less overall. Belotti is also the youngest and I think he has the highest ceiling of the three. Aubameyang is a more finished product so he would likely be the best out of the gate but I am somewhat unsure of how his playing style will translate to Italy. I don't think he will get as much free space in front of him as he did in Germany. Morata seems like the biggest risk to me. He's has a knack for being in the right place at the right time but I'm not sure if he's capable of leading the line and being the star. Maybe it's his time now though. I'll be curious to watch his development if he gets a chance to be the starter where ever he lands this window.

[milanbuf88]

Rumor is that Yonghong Li has just injected extra 70m into our transfer budget to get the next player.

Is that striker money or midfielder money?

[X-Offender]

1. Belotti
2. Aubameyang
3. Morata

It seems as if the transfer fee for all three of them will roughly be in the 80m range but I think Belotti's wage demands will be the lowest so he will cost less overall. Belotti is also the youngest and I think he has the highest ceiling of the three. Aubameyang is a more finished product so he would likely be the best out of the gate but I am somewhat unsure of how his playing style will translate to Italy. I don't think he will get as much free space in front of him as he did in Germany. Morata seems like the biggest risk to me. He's has a knack for being in the right place at the right time but I'm not sure if he's capable of leading the line and being the star. Maybe it's his time now though. I'll be curious to watch his development if he gets a chance to be the starter where ever he lands this window.

Same for me.

Belotti has all what it takes to succeed. Like I've previously said, he's a more refined version of Christian Vieri in my eyes.

[Fillipo Simone]

How good is Aubameyang? That's the question. Is he worth that much money? Can you call him a marquee player? I have my doubts. If it wasn't for his impressive stats I would be all against it.

I think your logic is a bit flawed here. You bring us into a circular, a status quo situation: the players you would probably consider marquee players are out of our range because they play for Real, Barcelona, etc. and won't join a team without CL football. That leaves us to a significantly reduced number of potential targets.

Now, why is it that you consider Aubameyang doubtful? Is it because Han told you so (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I think Auba is a great player, not only relying on speed but technique and intelligence as well. He's a bit problematic with his childish behavior, but all in all he's most definitively a marquee player.

Belotti is a talent and potential but compared with Auba he still has a lot to prove.

[Danny]

I think your logic is a bit flawed here. You bring us into a circular, a status quo situation: the players you would probably consider marquee players are out of our range because they play for Real, Barcelona, etc. and won't join a team without CL football. That leaves us to a significantly reduced number of potential targets.

Now, why is it that you consider Aubameyang doubtful? Is it because Han told you so (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I think Auba is a great player, not only relying on speed but technique and intelligence as well. He's a bit problematic with his childish behavior, but all in all he's most definitively a marquee player.

Belotti is a talent and potential but compared with Auba he still has a lot to prove.

I agree on Belotti - it's all potential with him. Which is why Silva equally worries me. Although in his case, unlike Belotti, he hasn't proven himself on any level. Belotti has at least shown he can handle a mid-table Serie A team. I just worry Belotti's another Gilardino. Not in style, but in psychology - big tag, big hype, but couldn't live up to delivering for Milan what he did for Parma. I don't know why but I fear the same in Belotti.

But we know Aubameyang can deliver in UCL and Bundesliga for a big club, and ditto Morata for Juve, Real and UCL. Those two are infinitely more bankable.

[han2503]

Aub or Kalinic. Absolutely comical. It's literally either a marquee world class signing or an average and underwhelming addition. Aub is world class and we are not going to get him cheap. He's 20 times the player Lukaku is, and is going to cost about the same. And his wages are of a level Milan have to pay to get that kind of quality.

Needs to be compromise.

Way of looking at it. 1M a year is roughly 20k. That is wages of yesteryear. Multiply that by 10 and you have Pogba. 200k. And he wasn't as well paid as Ibra, at 350k a week. Aub wants 240 a week. If Milan want to be serious, and have a world class player of that quality, Milan will have to pay for it.

9.5M is a fair (if still ludicrous) amount for a top quality player. That the alternative to an 80M player is a 20M player gives you some idea of the downgrade between the two.

Just a crying shame we let him go all those years ago. Bad call there. BAD call.

I think the Auba or Kalinic choice is similar to the choices I posted the day before. I think we're setting aside a significant sum for a single player and it will either be a midfielder or a striker. Atm it looks like we're all in to try for Auba. If that fails we could go for Kalinic and spend big on a midfielder. At least that's my best guess going by the drastic jump in quality between the 2.

I agree that the wages are thereabouts. But you're also quoting salaries in England. I think we should look at Juve as the bench mark, otherwise the wages will get out of control and we'll find ourselves in the same bad spot we were in a few years ago. Higuain is Juve's best paid player and he gets something like 9m per year. I don't think we should go any higher than that either

I'm really interested to see how they will sustain this spending. I'm 100% sure that they'll filter money in through the China Milan business venture they just started in Chine and through big Chinese advertisements. I can't see us continuing with Emerites and some of our other big sponsors once the deal have expired.

So I have a question guys, I think that it is clear that we are signing one more striker and if that striker is one of Aubumayang, Belotti or Moratta, which one would u sign and how do u rate them? Who is 1st, 2nd and 3rd best according to you?

I think Morata is out of the question. All links to him have died down and as Danny said he seems set on going to the EPL

For me it's Belotti, Auba, Morata

Is that striker money or midfielder money?

Who knows, according to Fassone we already had a "substantial" budget still left + whatever we get from player sales will be re-injected into the transfer market. So we'll see. I'd personally rather sign a great mid rather than a great striker.

I think your logic is a bit flawed here. You bring us into a circular, a status quo situation: the players you would probably consider marquee players are out of our range because they play for Real, Barcelona, etc. and won't join a team without CL football. That leaves us to a significantly reduced number of potential targets.

Now, why is it that you consider Aubameyang doubtful? Is it because Han told you so (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I think Auba is a great player, not only relying on speed but technique and intelligence as well. He's a bit problematic with his childish behavior, but all in all he's most definitively a marquee player.

Belotti is a talent and potential but compared with Auba he still has a lot to prove.

Hey now! I never said that Auba wasn't good enough or not worth that, just that Morata or Belotti has more upside as they're younger and don't rely as much on their pace

[X-Offender]

I think your logic is a bit flawed here. You bring us into a circular, a status quo situation: the players you would probably consider marquee players are out of our range because they play for Real, Barcelona, etc. and won't join a team without CL football. That leaves us to a significantly reduced number of potential targets.

Now, why is it that you consider Aubameyang doubtful? Is it because Han told you so (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I think Auba is a great player, not only relying on speed but technique and intelligence as well. He's a bit problematic with his childish behavior, but all in all he's most definitively a marquee player.

Belotti is a talent and potential but compared with Auba he still has a lot to prove.

No idea what Han thinks about Aubameyang.

I consider a marquee player someone who at 28 has played for at least one big club and won several silverware. Aubameyang only partially checks those boxes.

Look, I'm not against his signing by any means. But a price tag of 80M and a wage demand of 12M are way too excessive i my view.

[milanbuf88]

I agree on Belotti - it's all potential with him. Which is why Silva equally worries me. Although in his case, unlike Belotti, he hasn't proven himself on any level. Belotti has at least shown he can handle a mid-table Serie A team. I just worry Belotti's another Gilardino. Not in style, but in psychology - big tag, big hype, but couldn't live up to delivering for Milan what he did for Parma. I don't know why but I fear the same in Belotti.

But we know Aubameyang can deliver in UCL and Bundesliga for a big club, and ditto Morata for Juve, Real and UCL. Those two are infinitely more bankable.

I don't think it is fair to penalize Belotti based on a hunch you have from Gilardino's transfer over a decade ago. As you said, Gilardino was a very different player in terms of style. He was basically just a poacher and when he lost confidence in his finishing he became nearly worthless. Even in his best seasons at Parma he never provided any assists. Belotti on the other hand is a far more complete forward. He is capable of better link up, providing assists, and hassling defenders with his speed/physicality when pressing. Do you really think we should avoid buying talent players from midtable teams completely? Obviously there are no guarantees but Belotti seems like he could have Dybala-like impact given the right support.

Morata has certainly shown up in big games but he really hasn't demonstrated the kind of consistency during league play that indicates that he is ready to lead the line. The potential is there but we are going to need plenty of goals against Genoa and Crotone before any one gets a chance to score in the Champions League.

[han2503]

The distance between Milan and Lazio for Lucas Biglia is just €2M. Milan already have an agreement with the player. [MilanNews.it]

Lazio are now more open to negotiate for Biglia. They want €20M, while Milan offer €15M. Demand could be lowered to facilitate a move. [GdS]

Lazio agreed to postpone Biglia's arrival in Rome by 48 hours, as Biglia looks to reach a definitive agreement with Milan. [@DiMarzio]

The next 36 hours will be decisive for Biglia to Milan. Lazio have rejected Montolivo. [@AlfredoPedulla]

Simone Inzaghi has already resigned on keeping him. Milan offered Montolivo, but Lazio are not interested. [@AlfredoPedulla]

Donnarumma's signature for the contract renewal will arrive tomorrow or on Monday at the latest. [Sky Italia]

Contacts in the last hours between Milan and the entourage of Aubameyang as the work on cutting the distance between offer and demand. Milan's offer stands at €8M/year while Aubameyang wants €11-12M/year in wages. Possible contact between both clubs when they meet in China. [MilanNews]

Vangioni is very close to joining River Plate. [Di Marzio]

Milan and River Plate are currently discussing whether the Vangioni deal will be a loan or permanent transfer. [Sky]

Milan could meet with BVB for Aubameyang during the China tour, where the two clubs will face each other [MilanNews]

Mirabelli is in continuous contacts with Aubameyang's entourage to limit the distance between the offer (€8m) and player's demand (€10-12m)

Fassone and Mirabelli will work hard this weekend in order to get Aubameyang's consent on the move before negotiating with BVB [MilanNews].

[Jack Sparrow]

The 8MM offer makes a lot of sense to me because we're not a CL club drawing in CL revenues. Just in case - you guys shouldn't forget that with these purchases, we're officially out of FFP norms, and our original plan was thrown out by UEFA.

So Fassone will have to work very hard and tight with the budget.

I'm not too keen on Aubameyang. I'd prefer a striker who could give us a good 5 years of service and you're always suspicious of a pace merchant. Basically he's a poacher with pace and on paper should be ideal foil for Silva who is bit more of a playmaker. However Silva too scores the bulk of his goals in the box.

I don't know. I'm going to hold my peace till we sell out the 10-14 excess players. Will have a better idea of what we need then...

[X-Offender]

If we sign Biglia in the next couple of days, then I think we should focus on clearing house first. Many excess players that need to be placed elsewhere. We can then concentrate our final efforts on making that marquee signing.

[d'Arc.LP]

If we sign Biglia in the next couple of days, then I think we should focus on clearing house first. Many excess players that need to be placed elsewhere. We can then concentrate our final efforts on making that marquee signing.

The cleaning has already started with Kucka. Niang, Bacca, Lapadula, Bertolacci, De Sciglio, Vangioni and Paletta to follow. I am curious to see if Abate will stay as a back up or we are going to sell him and keep Calabria in the bench.

[Fillipo Simone]

I agree on Belotti - it's all potential with him. Which is why Silva equally worries me. Although in his case, unlike Belotti, he hasn't proven himself on any level. Belotti has at least shown he can handle a mid-table Serie A team. I just worry Belotti's another Gilardino. Not in style, but in psychology - big tag, big hype, but couldn't live up to delivering for Milan what he did for Parma. I don't know why but I fear the same in Belotti.

But we know Aubameyang can deliver in UCL and Bundesliga for a big club, and ditto Morata for Juve, Real and UCL. Those two are infinitely more bankable.

I understand were you're coming from. And this is why Belotti isn't a marquee signing. But then again, you can't really dismiss Belotti until he gets a proper chance. I mean almost every striker starts his career with a smaller team and then makes the jump. Basically every striker we sign from a smaller or mid-table team is in the same position; yet for every Chiesa and Gilardino there's also one Inzaghi or Crespo (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)