[Danny]

Not a fan of the 3-man defense. I think we should play 4-2-3-1 next season.

Doesn't matter what any of us want, Rodriguez confirmed today Montella will play a four. Says also that he's actually happy enough at CB himself.

[Danny]

Nope, it's also "hello". (FWIW, I believe it comes from the old Venetian dialect, and it means "your slave".)

Every day is a school day around here.

[X-Offender]

Funnily enough, it's used to say both hello and goodbye. Weird, right?

[X-Offender]

Doesn't matter what any of us want, Rodriguez confirmed today Montella will play a four. Says also that he's actually happy enough at CB himself.

Good.

No reason to play a 3-man defense when we have the perfect players (hopefully with Biglia soon) to play a pretty solid 4-2-3-1.

[Fishdoll]

So, a late night wrinkle in the story. Bonucci's agent is quoted by Sportitalia as saying he is working on Bonucci's sale (see below). Thing is, said agent is ALSO Bertolacci's agent and he's been spending a lot of time recently with Mirabelli. maybe it's all about Bertolacci going to Genoa, but there's speculation that Milan may actually be interested. I'm not at all convinced (the quote could be all BS or he may be heading to England) but hell, if he is leaving the Gobbi, it'd be great to have him.

Here's the relevant quote:
L'agente di Leonardo Bonucci, Alessandro Lucci, ha risposto a una precisa domanda su un'eventuale cessione del suo assistito con poche parole, ma incisive: "Ci sto lavorando". A riportarlo è Sportitalia

[Forza Milan!]

Dreams aside, I seriously doubt Juve will let go of Bonucci, particularly to another Italian side. Relating to Juve, the De Sciglio situation is more interesting, with the possibility of getting Quadrado.

[d'Arc.LP]

Bonucci rumors picking up steam. While Romagnoli is out of the question, it is said that we will offer De Sciglio + 35m for Bonucci and 7m/year to him.

[Fillipo Simone]

Agree. TMW has already done fact checking and has called BS on it. Now if we could get Bonucci without giving up Romagnoli....sure. But it's highly unlikely.

(Ciao everyone).

Welcome back (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Fillipo Simone]

So, a late night wrinkle in the story. Bonucci's agent is quoted by Sportitalia as saying he is working on Bonucci's sale (see below). Thing is, said agent is ALSO Bertolacci's agent and he's been spending a lot of time recently with Mirabelli. maybe it's all about Bertolacci going to Genoa, but there's speculation that Milan may actually be interested. I'm not at all convinced (the quote could be all BS or he may be heading to England) but hell, if he is leaving the Gobbi, it'd be great to have him.

Here's the relevant quote:
L'agente di Leonardo Bonucci, Alessandro Lucci, ha risposto a una precisa domanda su un'eventuale cessione del suo assistito con poche parole, ma incisive: "Ci sto lavorando". A riportarlo è Sportitalia

Bonucci would be a great addition. I think he would be exactly what our defense needs - experience and leadership. It would be great for Romagnoli as well. I'd surely rather spend on Bonucci then Kalinić.

And yes, I see the rumor about Bonucci isn't dying off. Dream mode on.

[Jack Sparrow]

Bonucci would be a great addition. I think he would be exactly what our defense needs - experience and leadership. It would be great for Romagnoli as well. I'd surely rather spend on Bonucci then Kalinić.

And yes, I see the rumor about Bonucci isn't dying off. Dream mode on.

They wouldn't sell to a direct rival would they? I think we have a better chance with T.Silva?

And rumoured price is De Sciglio + cash. We'd still have to pay at least 60 MM I guess? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[han2503]

tbh I did majorly wonder why Romagnoli wasn't involved yesterday. Only one who wasn't. And I'm in the total minority but this would be a good move for our defence. Like it or not, it has no leaders and I've been outspoken in being worried that we have no alpha there. This is not me saying Romagnoli is sh*t, I'm just saying I don't like the current setup in central defence. I'd rather it was Romag and Bonucci but why sign Musacchio.

Romagnoli would not be involved in the deal last I read.

Plus the only way I can see this happening is if we plan to play with3 at the back. Bonucci is best played in a back 3 so I don't see the logic in bringing him in and playing with a back 4 when he's best utilised in a 3-man backline.

Add to that, I never fully bought into the hype over him, he's a good defender and a great passer of the ball. But I think part of what makes him to good is the Juve setup. Whenever he's played for Italy in a 4-man backline I've been far from impressed

Agree. TMW has already done fact checking and has called BS on it. Now if we could get Bonucci without giving up Romagnoli....sure. But it's highly unlikely.

(Ciao everyone).

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

FISH!!! Stay!!

I read that the agent is the one who actually contacted Milan. Apparently there's friction between him and Allegri. And this hasa been going on from the middle of last season and boiled over during the CL final

I also read that he doesn't want to leave Italy (Conte would be all over him if that were the case), so us and Inter could be the only viable options for him

Today's press conference

The presentation of the fratelli Donnarumma today. Best moment of the whole thing at 12:08.

I like the press conferences and the new leadership's emphasis on transparency and on actively reaching out to fans.

The signings thus far have been solid though as so many of you have already covered, there are still some areas that need reinforcement (e.g. midfield and a CF).

As of 3pm Milan time, the meetings about Biglia are continuing, Milan has signed a rather promising 16 year old from Poland for the Primavera, and they're close to selling Paletta to Toro.

Please stay!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cry.gif)

Mirabelli slapping Donna was such a boss move. Have I said how much I'm loving the new management

Meh, so he'll be back next season.

This is the only way we can (sort of) increase his market value. Atm it's practically zero considering his wages, his injury record and the 2 awful seasons he's coming off of. Plus I read that it will be a paid load. So if we can get 2m off of giving him up for a season to hopefully regain some form a bring us back good resale value, I'm all for it

Bonucci rumors picking up steam. While Romagnoli is out of the question, it is said that we will offer De Sciglio + 35m for Bonucci and 7m/year to him.

Day light robbery! If we can pull this off we'd be making up for Pirlo and Matri in one single swoop

They wouldn't sell to a direct rival would they? I think we have a better chance with T.Silva?

And rumoured price is De Sciglio + cash. We'd still have to pay at least 60 MM I guess? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

If he wants to leave and only wants to go to Italy then they have their hands tied. There have been reports of ongoing trouble brewing between him and Allegri for a while now, so I don't see this as far-fetched as I saw it a couple of hours ago when all this first emerged.

35m + DS is the number currently doing the rounds as d'Arc posted above. Which would be an absolute steal!

[Fillipo Simone]

But ain't we equipped for a 3 man defense anyway? Think about it. Rodriguez and Conti are known to be able to play a RWB/LWB. We already have Musacchio and Romagnoli on board. I think with Biglia and Calha beside Bona we've found our midfield stability (still lacking of creativity). So, I think we could pull this off.

[Fishdoll]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

FISH!!! Stay!!

I read that the agent is the one who actually contacted Milan. Apparently there's friction between him and Allegri. And this hasa been going on from the middle of last season and boiled over during the CL final

I also read that he doesn't want to leave Italy (Conte would be all over him if that were the case), so us and Inter could be the only viable options for him

Hi there, penguins! Still fighting the good fight and pushing people into the ice, I see!

The agent - who is also agent to Bertolacci and Cuadrado - has been in and out of Casa Milan quite a bit. It's entirely possible he sounded Milan out, I imagine. If - and I consider it a very big if - Bonucci wants to leave, I think he's going to need to ask to be sold. The Gobbi are on record about not keeping players against their will. So it's over to Leo at this point.

He did post on twitter and instagram about starting the new season. But wasn't wearing Juve kit in the image....

In other news, Milan is supposedly waiting for the Chinese market to close (on Friday) before bidding for Aubameyang according to Gazzetta.

Sky on the other hand says Milan made another offer for Belotti yesterday (Paletta, Niang/Lapadula, and $) that was turned down - but negotiations are not totally over. Of note is the fact that Toro is negotiating with Napoli for Duvan Zapata, another CF. There's curiosity as to why they're going for another (not cheap and Cairo isn't exactly known for spending lots of money) forward if Belotti really is staying.

[Danny]

Good.

No reason to play a 3-man defense when we have the perfect players (hopefully with Biglia soon) to play a pretty solid 4-2-3-1.

I do feel we need to quickly establish the shape. I don't want 4-3-3 again - it does NOT work in Serie A. We also have not built an XI for it. Right now we're still a bit patchy, and don't yet have a striker who can lead the line. Nor do we have enough high quality AMs for a 3. Jack and Cal. Unless I'm wildly forgetting someone that's it. Surely we're not pitching Kessie there?

[han2503]

If Bonucci is really an option than a 3-man back line has to be the way to go for us. The fact that they're still so keen on strikers like Auba/Belotti/Kalinic also puzzles me as you wouldn't be so interested in strikers if the plan was to really go for a 4-3-3. Also the fact that we have only one real out and out winger in Suso really makes one pause as to how we'll be playing 4-3-3.