[William405]

Calahanoglu to Inter seems serious.

Another player lost on a free transfer to Inter of all clubs.

Honestly, given the pandemic situation, I don't think that Maldini should be the one to blame here. The two players played hardball and didn't want to accept legitimate offers of renewal.

Honestly, I'm happy about it, because players like this don't deserve to be wearing the Milan jersey and clearly don't want to be here anymore. Calhanoglu has been average for us at best, but it is true that he is the only one that can occupy this position and therefore was crucial for the way we played. I hope we can get Diaz and another attacking midfielder...but I can't really think of anyone at the moment.

[William405]

I did count Maignan. Doesn't that make it 3? Maignan, Rebic and Kjaer. Ah, right, Calhanoglu as well, but the tw@t is close to joining Inter...

So, what do you guys think of Zaccagni? Looks like he might be the new AM. Personally speaking, I think we're going nowhere with such names. Mind you, he's a decent player, but we need else if we want to return big. And you can't do that with such players like Zaccagni...

Hmmm I like what I saw on youtube...but I agree with you that he won't be a step up at least not next season. But, you never know...he might be explosive with us...in any case it's a bet rather than an insurance.

[X-Offender]

Well man, you're pushing it to look more drastic. Hakan is still a Milan player. He was selected on basis of him MILAN performances, so yes, he should definitively be counted in. Donna + Hakan + Rebić + Kjaer + Dalot = 5.

Whatever. My point still remains.

Capanoglu to Inter is confirmed by the mercenary himself, said to some Turkish outlet he will fly to Milano tomorrow to sign the new contract. Good riddance.

[Fillipo Simone]

Indeed.

[X-Offender]

Let's look at our starting line-up right now:

Maignan
Calabria - Kjaer - Tomori - Theo
Kessie - Bennacer
XXX - YYY - Rebic
Zlatan

We need to fill those missing spots with two quality signings. And I mean players with international appeal and experience. People were not very warm about De Paul for instance, but he's playing as a starter alongside Messi in the Copa America. That's what I call international appeal. Zaccagni has barely played for the Azzurri.

And I'm being optimistic here because honestly Rebic is not good enough to be a starter, in my opinion.

Then there's the whole subs discussion. Vice-Calabria, vice-Theo, Romagnoli's renewal, Tonali, Brahim, the other CFs. Maldini has an insane summer ahead of him...

[CrazyMilanFan]

Annoying thing is that kessie extension is also struck. We need to sort this out

[han2503]

Sorry, didn't notice you said the exact same thing as me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Great minds (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I did count Maignan. Doesn't that make it 3? Maignan, Rebic and Kjaer. Ah, right, Calhanoglu as well, but the tw@t is close to joining Inter...

So, what do you guys think of Zaccagni? Looks like he might be the new AM. Personally speaking, I think we're going nowhere with such names. Mind you, he's a decent player, but we need else if we want to return big. And you can't do that with such players like Zaccagni...

Isn't he more of a wide player? I remember him really playing well against us in the first game we played at the San Siro

But I'd only take him as a squad player, no where near good enough to be our starting AM. And he's not the right kinf of profile for that position in Pioli's system

I still think Ziyech would be the best option for us, can play both central and wide right, hit 2 birds with one stone in terms of rotation and depth and then we can think of a player like Zaccagni

I really can't think of a right profile to replace Hakan though...

Calahanoglu to Inter seems serious.

Another player lost on a free transfer to Inter of all clubs.

Honestly, given the pandemic situation, I don't think that Maldini should be the one to blame here. The two players played hardball and didn't want to accept legitimate offers of renewal.

Honestly, I'm happy about it, because players like this don't deserve to be wearing the Milan jersey and clearly don't want to be here anymore. Calhanoglu has been average for us at best, but it is true that he is the only one that can occupy this position and therefore was crucial for the way we played. I hope we can get Diaz and another attacking midfielder...but I can't really think of anyone at the moment.

This is terrible for us. I still maintain that we should have just given him that extra mil. Ridiculous to think that we're losing another starting player for free over not budging on the contract. With Donna it was an extreme case and I agree with the club, it was simply not a sustainable request, but 1m difference between offer and demand and now we have to dip into this kind of market to buy an AM? Stupid imo

I wasn't worried yesterday but today doubts are starting to creep in. All that we've done so far this summer is weaken the squad...

Let's look at our starting line-up right now:

Maignan
Calabria - Kjaer - Tomori - Theo
Kessie - Bennacer
XXX - YYY - Rebic
Zlatan

We need to fill those missing spots with two quality signings. And I mean players with international appeal and experience. People were not very warm about De Paul for instance, but he's playing as a starter alongside Messi in the Copa America. That's what I call international appeal. Zaccagni has barely played for the Azzurri.

And I'm being optimistic here because honestly Rebic is not good enough to be a starter, in my opinion.

Then there's the whole subs discussion. Vice-Calabria, vice-Theo, Romagnoli's renewal, Tonali, Brahim, the other CFs. Maldini has an insane summer ahead of him...

Agreed totally. Plus we have to look into upgrading the bench as well... I don't know what our budget looks like but this is worrying. i don't think we have the money to fill both positions... That's why I was in the renew camp. This has opened a huge can of worms for us

Annoying thing is that kessie extension is also struck. We need to sort this out

This is one of my biggest worries. These renewal sagas cannot be left to the final year again. I know why we delayed with all the current players like Hakan and Kessie, because before Pioli came, none of them were really performing up to par and there were doubts on whether we should even keep them. But we've really backed ourselves into corners now with all these contracts running down.

We simply have to renew Kessie and Romagnoli ASAP. And I would add Theo and Bennacer to that list. We must not let these contracts go beyond the 2 year mark.

[han2503]

What do we think about Shaqiri and Isak?

Shaqiri I think has the attributes to do what Pioli wants in that role and Isak has been amazing for Sweden imo

I don't think we'd have to break the bank for either

[han2503]

Btw, it's really funny that he decides to go to Inter for 1m more when they can barely pay their current players. Not to mention that this is going to put them under even more financial pressure than they were already in


Good luck with that cugini

[X-Offender]

I wasn't worried yesterday but today doubts are starting to creep in. All that we've done so far this summer is weaken the squad...

Bro, Hakan not renewing has been in the air for weeks. You can't say this news now changes your perspective on our mercato, which was optimistic until yesterday.

I told you sh*t does not look good.

What do we think about Shaqiri and Isak?

Shaqiri I think has the attributes to do what Pioli wants in that role and Isak has been amazing for Sweden imo

I don't think we'd have to break the bank for either

No to Shaqiri for me, don't know this Isaac guy.

Btw, it's really funny that he decides to go to Inter for 1m more when they can barely pay their current players. Not to mention that this is going to put them under even more financial pressure than they were already in

Good luck with that cugini

Actually, Capanoglu will replace Eriksen who is set to leave after what happened, as per Lega Calcio regulations he cannot play with the defibrillator they placed in him.

Eriksen earns 7.5M at Inter, so they're actually saving a few bucks.

[han2503]

Bro, Hakan not renewing has been in the air for weeks. You can't say this news now changes your perspective on our mercato, which was optimistic until yesterday.

I told you sh*t does not look good.



No to Shaqiri for me, don't know this Isaac guy.



Actually, Capanoglu will replace Eriksen who is set to leave after what happened, as per Lega Calcio regulations he cannot play with the defibrillator they placed in him.

Eriksen earns 7.5M at Inter, so they're actually saving a few bucks.

There were no definites. And it looked like offers weren't going to come in for Hakan... We'll see but I just can't see us replacing an AM and bringing in a RW of the quality we need in the same window.

But where will Eriksen go? Can they simply terminate his contract?

Plus, Hakan now will earn twice as much as Barella and Lautaro. With Eriksen it's acceptable as he was a top class player. Hakan though is coming in froma rival team and hasn't done much of anything in his career

[X-Offender]

There were no definites. And it looked like offers weren't going to come in for Hakan... We'll see but I just can't see us replacing an AM and bringing in a RW of the quality we need in the same window.

There were no definites, but it seemed plausible he was never going to renew.

But where will Eriksen go? Can they simply terminate his contract?

No idea what's gonna happen with him, but obviously he can't stay in the payroll since he's not eligible to play. They'll probably end their relationship on mutual terms.

[William405]

The worrying thing this time is that Maldini doesn't seem to have s replacement in the works. Anyway, **** him

[Fillipo Simone]

Plus, Hakan now will earn twice as much as Barella and Lautaro. With Eriksen it's acceptable as he was a top class player. Hakan though is coming in froma rival team and hasn't done much of anything in his career

That tells you only how the Inter boys are behaving. If it were Milan they'd already demanded bigger salaries. But what will happen with Eriksen, Lautaro and Hakan is Inter's concern, I don't give a damn.

As for Milan, yes, this is exactly what I thought was happening. We are getting weaker and weaker. I get you X-O; I was the one who initially told you Hakan is completely unreliable and inconsistent, knowing him from HSV and Leverkusen days. This was then time when you two tried to prove he can play a Pirloesque DM. Well...

Anyway, Hakan was immensely important for Pioli's system even when he played badly or was invisible, because of the rhythm, flow and tempo. I'm not sure who's gonna replace him now.

Oh and the argument that De Paul is now playing along Messi isn't exactly stunning either. Several terrible players played for Argentina and with Messi through the decades at the Copa. This is me not wanting to say De Paul is terrible, just overrated. But, we'll see. Atletico is the right place to be right now.

I read Donny van de Beek, Ceballos, Isco and some other players being mentioned. We'll see what Maldini cooks up this time. But I have a feeling the upcoming season will be a horrible embarrassment.

[X-Offender]

I get you X-O; I was the one who initially told you Hakan is completely unreliable and inconsistent, knowing him from HSV and Leverkusen days. This was then time when you two tried to prove he can play a Pirloesque DM. Well...

Hmm, don't think I've ever considered Capanoglu to play as DM, but anyway, yes, back in the day I really had high hopes for him.

Anyway, Hakan was immensely important for Pioli's system even when he played badly or was invisible, because of the rhythm, flow and tempo. I'm not sure who's gonna replace him now.

Yes, he was ideal for Pioli's system. But you know what's even better? A player who's ideal for your system AND doesn't suck balls 50% of the time.

Oh and the argument that De Paul is now playing along Messi isn't exactly stunning either. Several terrible players played for Argentina and with Messi through the decades at the Copa. This is me not wanting to say De Paul is terrible, just overrated. But, we'll see. Atletico is the right place to be right now.

Amongst all the names we've linked with, De Paul would have been the best option. Or do you prefer Zaccagni or Adli instead? We would have been extremely lucky to get him, but obviously Atletico don't mess around and just barfed 40M like it was peanuts.

We'll never compete with the big clubs because we cannot spend like a big club. And that's simply because we're owned by a fund. Elliott will never take chances and borrow money to buy top players, because it would devalue the club for potential investors.

As I said in a previous post, we only have 105M of debt (as per the 30/06/20 financial statements), which in reality is not a true debt per se, but payables to factoring companies for advances on future receivables in reference to commercial contracts. They are in fact self-liquidating, considering that they are advances on receivables, such as TV rights or the collection of payments for players sold on the transfer market, which the club will collect in the coming months.

So, in reality, we have zero debt. Atletico Madrid, for comparison, have over one billion of debt in their accounts. And so do most big clubs. That's where they get most of the cash they spend on the market for players, and that's how they can afford them. Is it sustainable in the long term? No idea. But operating as Elliott wants us to operate, we'll never go anywhere.

I read Donny van de Beek, Ceballos, Isco and some other players being mentioned. We'll see what Maldini cooks up this time. But I have a feeling the upcoming season will be a horrible embarrassment.

I agree. Things look extremely bleak.

This post has been edited by X-Offender: Jun 22 2021, 12:08 PM