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Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 13 2016, 05:53 AM

Since the rumors have already started, I opened the thread so we can post and comment the latest of them.

So, we already know that in a few weeks the clubs ownership will officially go to the Chinese and as the deal said, they have to invest 300m in the next 3 years. Considering that they invested 15m already during the Summer Window for Lapadula and Gomez, who do you think we can transfer for 85m in order to create a Champions Leauge competitor ?

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 13 2016, 07:12 AM

So the 85 MM might not be for the club right? How much of it is money that is being paid to Finninvest for the club?

Dream Mode On: Veratti + Thiago Silvo + Isco.

Dream Mode Off: Milan Badelj + Isco (on loan) OR John Obi Mikel

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 13 2016, 09:04 AM

I think - and I might be wrong, that those 300m are apart from the ones the club is recieving and also apart from the ones that will go to paying debts.

I think that Silva is coming eitherway, with us dreaming or not.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 13 2016, 10:32 AM

Indeed. And I love the idea of him and Romagnoli leading the defense.

Posted by: han2503 Oct 13 2016, 07:30 PM

I think you're incorrect there about the money

The 15m the Chinese investors paid in the summer didn't go into the transfer market but to Fininvest as the first down payment on the sale, same goes for the 85m that were paid recently. In total they added up to 100m which was used as the first down payment but also as the guarantee the Chinese paid (should anyone back out before the closing that 100m is given to the other party)

The 300m I've read is part of the investment the new owners will have to put into the club, and not all of it will be going into the transfer marker. But honestly, I don't believe there's any sort of binding contract on that. it's more of an act of goodwill from the Chinese' part to Silvio. It's like I'm selling a house to you and on the sale I stipulate that you have to renovate each bedroom. Once the house is yours you can really just do what you please with it. It's not like I'll take back the house if you go back on that word

As for the winter, I think they'll make a couple of signings, but I'm not getting ahead of myself

Dream mode on: Cesc, Isco/Kovacic, Matuidi

Dream mode off: Badelj

Oh, and thanks for opening the thread d'Arc, I'll pin this and unpin the summer thread

Posted by: han2503 Oct 13 2016, 07:30 PM

Welcome back Fillipo, you've been gone for a bit haven't you?

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 13 2016, 08:30 PM

Thank you about the correction. With this new information coming to light, I dont think we should switch our dream mode to on.

You are welcome, I am sorry I did so without asking but I thought you just didnt notice.

“Gold from China, Milan after Isco." #Corriere dello Sport

Isco always targeted of Milan and Juventus, he does not have much space at Real Madrid and soon the two clubs will make their move. According to station "Mega Tv", Real Madrid wants 40-45milion euro to sell the player.

Isco's father-agent: "Milan and Juventus? I can assure you that we will not consider any offer until next summer."

La Gazzetta dello Sport:
"Milan and Chinese, the final list of investors will be revealed on late october. 4 partners are already known. Closing of the deal before the derby on November 20."

China Construction Bank, Ping An Insurance, Baoshang Bank, China Huarong and TCL Corporation are the possible investors. #IlSole24Ore

The list of investors will be presented to Fininvest between 20 and 25 October. There are 5-6 groups. #CorSera

Mirabelli is looking for reinforcements for the midfield ahead of the January market. The objectives are Badelj and Paredes. #LaStampa


Lucas Lima's agent: "There are several clubs interested: PSG and Valencia have also followed him. He would be Milan's Borja Valero. A quality midfielder to increase the technical rate and build the game. The Chinese like Brazilian players. There are many of our talents playing in China."

Posted by: maldini03 Oct 14 2016, 12:12 AM

If we aren't dreaming I would say that either Badelj or Paredes wouldn't be terrible moves. Both are the type of players we need on the team, holding midfielders who can distribute the ball. I'd prefer Paredes but either would be welcome additions. I hope he is also looking at defenders, we need someone to pair with Romag to give this team some consistency.

I would also say that if we aren't really making a push to go anywhere this year come December we should look to move on and make some space. The way I see it, if we aren't going to make a real jump in quality with the players then we should continue to bring the young guys along. Bringing in one of Paredes or Badelj wont push the needle and make us contenders if we aren't contenders already. Fabregas, Isco, and some other names being brandied about sound great but they are more summer moves, when we have some real financial muscle and a clean sheet to make a push into Europe.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 14 2016, 08:54 AM

Milan's budget for January's transfer market will be €100m. #LaStampa

CorSport - Milan, here is the list of all potential Chinese investors:
- "TCL Corporation, the electronic giant charges a $16 billion turnover."
- "China Construction Bank (173 billion dollars of capitalism)."
- "Ping An Insurance (60 billion dollars invoiced) and Baoshan Bank, Mongolia's banking institution."
- China Merchant Bank (confirmed), strong Chinese bank of Guangdong, circulation 48 billion and assets of 843 billion.
This could be expected to be the big list of Sino Europe, all designed to enter the Chinese state, a project that seems too ambitious.

Milan are interested in Monaco's 17 year old winger Kylian Mbappé according to L'Equipe.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 14 2016, 09:26 AM

Thanks. Yes, I had to finish some things regarding my phd and at the University. I took a few weeks off and only lost out on the Sassuolo game. But now I'm fully back

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 14 2016, 09:28 AM

But seriously, Badelj and Paredes are the kinds of players we should avoid. I cannot see a thing Badelj would add up to our midfield. We must aim higher and sign someone like Isco or Kovačić at least.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Oct 14 2016, 04:34 PM

Mikel would be a little bit of a worry for me. I think he's at the point where he would be a downgrade for our bench.

Posted by: maldini03 Oct 14 2016, 09:35 PM

I actually think Badelj would be an upgrade as a passer over most everyone in our midfield, that being said bringing him in wouldn't make us better to the degree we have to be to compete for anything. He would make us better but not to the degree necessary to get on that Juve level.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 15 2016, 06:44 AM

Fassone and Mirabelli have arrived in London and will attend #ChelseaLeicester.
[Sky]

Lazio are interested in Lapadula for January according to CorSport.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 15 2016, 08:08 AM

Perhaps Badelj is a slight upgrade, but he's still far from what we need. Fabregas is miles better.

Posted by: han2503 Oct 15 2016, 01:36 PM

All interesting names, I read somewhere that the combined assets of the corporations mentioned in the consortium is in the trillions, yes, with a T

That being said, what worries me is that these giant corporations wouldn't be sugar daddies for us, at least not in the way the Sheikhs are for City and PSG, so we'll have to see if there will really be an influx of cash or not


Welcome back! Should we start calling you Dr. now?




Badelj would be like Monto was a few years ago. He was an obvious upgrade over what we had at the time, but not good enough to really influence the quality of the team.

If we're not going to sign quality players than I'd rather give the kids a chance. No use continuing to make the same mistakes as were done under Galliani and continuing to load up the squad with more quantity but very little quality

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 16 2016, 12:35 PM

Very soon hopefully


Agreed. Even though I never managed to see Monto as an obvious upgrade. He came in when Milan lost Seedorf, van Bommel and Gattuso. It was a downgrade, because we all expected him to excel whereas he didn't even manage to reach the level of play a 30-something Seedorf did in his last season with us.

Posted by: han2503 Oct 16 2016, 07:18 PM

Sure, but once we lost those players and it had already become apparent that we weren't going to sign a top quality midfielder, Monto was truly an upgrade for us considering the way our midfield was threadbare of quality. And let's not forget that Monto actually had a really good first season with us.

He struggled in his second one and then he kept getting serious injuries and it's been downhill since then.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Oct 16 2016, 07:50 PM

350M is guaranteed for three years. 100M of which this winter.

That is coming from 20M transfer budgets .. Surely sounds like an influx of cash to me.

What of the years after the three years have passed, you say? China bought into Milan to promote for a 'future' WC in China. Just as Qatar did with PSG and sponsoring Barca. The Chinese have a vision for Milan, and starting off with 350M spread over three years isn't too shabby, especially with the inflated player price tags going around.

Trillions are not going to be poured into Milan; but rest assured it will be well maintained to win! The Chinese have ample economies of scale and they could multiply merchandizing and TV income for the club, let alone ensure a regular CL income and all that comes with it. I doubt they will throw/funnel in money the way Silvio did, as he was the only decision maker; while now the Chairman of Sino-Europe will be negotiating with X amount of owners before transfer budgets/decisions/etc are passed down to Fassone. They are business men and they have an intention. Time to drop the guard han fun times ahead

Posted by: han2503 Oct 17 2016, 08:21 PM

From your mouth to God's ears

I guess I was almost completely sold into it, but Paolo's rejection sort of put a bit of a wrench in it for me. Not completely derailing my hopes but certainly dampening them a bit

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 18 2016, 10:39 AM

According to English media, Milan are ready to offer €25m for Erik Lamela.

Corriere della Sera: Fassone is considering offering Franco Baresi a bigger role at Milan.


Milan and Inter are interested in Lindelof. Benfica won't let the player for less than €30m (his clause). #Rai

Chelsea are ready to offer €55m for Romagnoli according to GdS.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 19 2016, 06:02 AM

Fabrizio Romano: Milan and Inter scouts were attending Club Brugge-Porto to observe Andrè Silva and Danilo Pereira from Porto and Denswil from Club Brugge.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 19 2016, 07:31 AM

We're talking a lot about people coming in. But who do you reckon are leaving? I feel Luiz Adriano will definitely be leaving. Probably Pasalic as well. This is a bit concerning because an injury to either Bacca or Lapadula puts us in a difficult position.

Also not sure if Gabriel will be interested in continuing to be No. 2 keeper.

Rumours link us to Lamela - but unless he genuinely wants to leave England, there is no chance he'll come to Milan.

Also rumours linking us to Thiago Silva. I'd be over the moon if he joined but we have to consider that his current salary at PSG is supposedly 13 million Euros. I don't see us going that far for a player who will be signing his last professional European contract.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 19 2016, 07:58 AM

Just one more thing. I loved this headline in GdS -

But seriously this is a huge statement. And funny how Romagnoli is the senior here.

Posted by: William405 Oct 19 2016, 08:29 AM

Yeah, Luiz Adriano need to leave for his benefit. I don't think it's a problem, we still have Niang on that position too!

Why wouldn't Gabriel be happy as a No. 2 keeper? It's not like he is a phenomenon. If anything, Milan should be the ones worried about it. I'd loan him out again, and get an experienced goalkeeper.

Thiago Silva would be nice. His salary is insane. Why doesn't PSG want to renew with him? Could it be the salary? If so he'll have to take a wage-cut anyway, so we don't really have to "match" the 13 million per say.

Posted by: William405 Oct 19 2016, 08:31 AM

Hahahahah, yeah it's nice.

It was evident for me that Romagnoli was going to be a hit. Donnaruma was quite the surprise, but I think it was Berlusconi who praised him first?!

It's nice to see all these youngsters, and we shouldn't sell them!

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 19 2016, 10:39 AM

From England, "Sun Sport": Chelsea are ready to offer about €60m for Romagnoli.

Now this is tempting.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 19 2016, 11:16 AM

No. Not yet. I'll rather sell him for something like 120 MM about 5 or 6 years later. It's hard to find replacements that good. Plus it would destroy our current season. Imagine having Zapata replace Romagnoli in the centre.

Posted by: milanbuf88 Oct 19 2016, 12:50 PM

I wouldn't sell Romagnoli for any price at this time. Donnaruma is off limits as well. If we are going to be getting a lot of money for the transfer market then we have no need to sell. Holding on to these players is a mark of intent that we need to show Europe that we are coming back.

Posted by: William405 Oct 19 2016, 01:10 PM

Yes, if anything, we should be buying players..not selling.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Oct 19 2016, 04:22 PM

We are not going to get an unlimited transfer budget, player prices are what they are, and we have a lot of gaps in our team. If there is a very good offer for a player (any player) we should be considering it. But I would not sell unless the offer is really good.

Posted by: milanbuf88 Oct 19 2016, 06:21 PM

The gaps aren't significant enough to justify selling incredibly promising young players. Personally I think one of our biggest challenges at the moment is convincing top of the line players that Milan is a worthy potential destination. Selling Romagnoli or Donnaruma would only convince players that we aren't to be taken seriously. Sure, any mid level player on the team should be sold if the price is right but talismans are untouchable.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 19 2016, 06:30 PM

Calciomercato says Montella likes Lorenzo Pellegrini of Sassuolo, but Roma have a re-buy option for €10m.

Posted by: William405 Oct 19 2016, 07:51 PM

No, no, no. I don't agree at all. I'd rather we kept our formation the way it is, and watch our players develop than to do this. All of our promising youngsters should be off the market. They represent the future of Milan in my opinion. Specially, that you're talking about players that have passed through our youth system, and are really proving their worth!

Who are we going to get to fill our gaps anyway? I don't think we'll do a deal like Bacca, and we simply can't attract the top players because we are not in the champions leauge anymore. So, if we're going to get someone, it's probably going to be players a la Fabregas or Thiago that are either at the end of their contracts or are kept on the bench. These kind of transfers usually won't take that much money power to get them done.

Also, what's the point of the sale to the Chinese? And why is everyone happy about it if we're going to sell our star youngster for 60 million lol? Berlusconi spent a huge amount last year without even being able to get big cash out of a player. If they're going to sell such players, then I would have prefered Berlusconi to stay. First, for sentimental and historical reasons, (which are very important by the way) and second for financial ones.

So, yeah just keep the youngsters. Try to sign 1-2 veterans for a good deal (CM and a CB), and aim for that champions league spot.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Oct 20 2016, 01:07 AM

The point of the sale is that we get some money and hopefully a competent management team. And while there is no guarantee that this will actually happen, the path we have been on is far from ideal. Not to mention the fact that Berlu is getting old, and his kids are unlikely to invest anything at all if they take over.

In any case, I agree with you that we should try to hold on to key players, particularly the younger ones. However, if we get a high enough offer, I think it should be taken into consideration. (FWIW, I would not jump at €60m for Romagnoli, but a higher offer maybe.)

Posted by: kurtsimonw Oct 20 2016, 02:50 AM

I imagine it would be laughed off. He's started 9 of 12 games and appeared in all 12. They aren't going to take a loss on an important first XI player. If we offered €40m, they would maybe consider it.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 20 2016, 04:44 PM

Arsenal are ready to offer €35m for M'Baye Niang, but Milan will block any move as they are determined to keep the player. #CalcioMercatoWeb

Give us 45m and I would be ready to say goodby to him.

Milan have expressed interest in Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij. #Repubblica

Milan scouts will attend Europa League game Olympiakos-FC Astana this evening. #MN

CorSport: Milan are interested in Fabregas, but Chelsea want Romagnoli in a swap deal. Fassone remains very cold about this idea.

Donnarumma is expected to sign a contract until 2022 with a €3m/year salary. Fassone will meet Raiola after the closing. #TuttoSport

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 20 2016, 08:05 PM

Fabrizio Romano: Romagnoli is unsellable to Milan. Chelsea are interested, but the Milan defender is untouchable.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 21 2016, 06:51 PM

Milan and Napoli are interested in Sporting CP, 22 year old defender Ruben Semedo according to A Bola.

Fabrizio Romano: Milan remain interested in Lucas Lima. Santos want €20m but the player's entourage are attempting to get them to sell for €15m. Similarly to Gabriel, his transfer fee will be equally divided between Santos, the player's family and Doyen Sports.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 25 2016, 08:43 AM

GdS: Pavoletti or Verrati. It's an italian Milan. The mister is waiting for new players in january.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 25 2016, 09:37 AM

Pavoletti and we let Adriano go. Okay. But Verrati would just cut space for Locatelli right? Verrati is young and he won't be cheap.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 25 2016, 09:56 AM

And would be what we need, no?

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 25 2016, 10:15 AM

Yeah. Not really. I'm not sure we need all that many players actually if Mati Fernandez, Sosa and Bertolacci are fit. Especially for January. However we're light on the wings...

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Oct 25 2016, 12:01 PM

Really? As far as I'm concerned Bertolacci is a big shot (already failed one season), Mati is dubious whereas Sosa struggles to find himself a position in the team.

Man, if we wanna rebuild, if we wanna winning and playing well, we need to look beyond those three.

Posted by: han2503 Oct 25 2016, 04:05 PM

Verratti would be a dream, but it's never going to happen

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 25 2016, 04:39 PM

And I see your point. So the question is what options are there in January, compared to the summer.

I'm pretty sure that as much as it hurts, we'll find it difficult to carry on this early momentum till the end of the season. We're going to struggle in patches and if we can hit the winter 5 points off the top place then it's great. Remember the goal this season is to finish in Europe, and we should be careful about who we purchase. Next summer, Milan can look to make the big buys and thus give them a whole pre-season to settle into the team.

Posted by: maldini03 Oct 25 2016, 07:23 PM

I agree with Jack here, unless we can get rid of some of the dead wood in January than I doubt we will be looking to make big splashes. If we are in the hunt in January, I would say just make some background moves and let this team get a season of consistency under its belt. However, I don't think we will still be in such a good position come January. Success takes consistency and growing pains and getting them out this year would leave us with a bigger budget next summer and the ability to build a powerful competitive unit.

I'm of the mindset that when it comes down to it, teams with players who can change the flow of a game will earn their money. We have few game changers and a shallow bench and I think that will show over time. That being said, Verratti is a dream, Pavoletti at best is a sub. I think we need to look into a defender and an upgrade to Suso's position. After that, we are looking at needing a new midfielder or two and maybe another seconda punta who can play multiple forward positions.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 26 2016, 03:28 PM

Transfer confusion at Milan
By Football Italia staff

It’s reported there is transfer confusion at Milan, as Adriano Galliani isn’t working with Massimiliano Mirabelli.

The Rossoneri are in the midst of a takeover, with Sino-Europe Sports looking to take control of the club from Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest.

If and when the deal goes through, Mirabelli will be installed as the sporting director, and will therefore be responsible for recruitment.

However, he cannot know what kind of funds will be available, and according to calciomercato.com he doesn’t have a direct link with Coach Vincenzo Montella.

Galliani, therefore, is proceeding as normal and has been asked by Montella to get a winger and another midfielder.

The ownership situation means that talks have not been opened over any deals yet though, leaving the Diavolo in an awkward position for January.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Oct 26 2016, 05:12 PM

Nah, the media just want something to chew on.

The winter transfer business is currently with Galliani, when the sale of Milan is perfected that shall be handed over the same day to Mirabelli; hence there is no nonsense but only noise (noise as what the media are stirring, which sells inevitably )

Plus, the sale is to happen next month while the winter transfer window will be open after that date. Hence wouldn't Mirabelli be surprised that he is already in contact with players the Chinese have earmarked.

Posted by: X-Offender Oct 27 2016, 08:12 PM

The sale is scheduled to be finalised in November. We'll see...

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Oct 27 2016, 09:11 PM

Speaking of rumors, 7 names which comprise basically of Milan bench players .. the Milan new management want them gone. Milan are not disclosing whom they are, but my bed is the fodder will go this winter.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Oct 28 2016, 10:14 AM

I'll take a shot at it:

1. Luiz Adriano
2. Keisuke Honda
3. Andrea Poli
4. R. Ely
5. L. Vangioni
6. M. Pasalic
7. J.Sosa (?)

The last one is a long shot, since we just got him in.

But yeah, I don't think these names have a future in the club. They'll probably be gone in the winter or the summer. I don't think a mass exodus will do us good. It will leave us with a very tiny squad.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Oct 28 2016, 06:00 PM

1. Honda
2. Honda
3. Honda
4. Honda
5. Honda
6. Honda
7. Honda

He's got the awfulness of 7 players.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 29 2016, 10:51 AM

Fassone will fly to China tomorrow or more likely on Monday, where he will stay for a week and will meet Han Li, Li Yonghong and the sponsors. An objective of the Chinese is to further reduce the number of investors (currently 7-8), in order to increase the shares of new owners. The Chinese aim to close the deal between 18-22 November. But the closing will likely arrive at the end of November, or in the first days of December. Meanwhile Mirabelli is continuing to make contacts with other clubs. Then there will be a meeting with Montella to plan the January market. #GdS

#CorSport: Milan want Karim Bellarabi in January.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Oct 30 2016, 06:18 AM

Milan are thinking about another Japanese player (as Honda is expected to leave), and are considering Shinji Okazaki of Leicester. #PremiumSport

Posted by: han2503 Oct 30 2016, 06:31 PM

Buh-bye!

And the last line is why he won't be missed

We might have quantity but we certainly don't have quality

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Oct 30 2016, 09:12 PM

Think it is healthy for both Milan and Galliani to part ways, especially specific to Milan. History will always be on his side as he was instrumental in making Milan the brand me and you know or knew.

Otherwise I couldn't care less to what happens to him in terms of his future and I am anxious to see what the new incoming management has in store for us

Where does the team sit on the table han? Let's be fair. Currently galliani is the go-to guy for this club and as such he has to comment such comments. Fiat's ceo talks about his cars as if they were Mercedes Benz or Ferrari but we all know it isn't. Same concept applies here.

Soon we will have a new ceo, and you expect him to comment on the team 'while in season' stating the team lacks quality or quantity? Or that this player is bad and whatnot?

A person in the arena will have different pressures and tactics than a spectator that is in constant 'tranquilized obviousness'.

Posted by: X-Offender Oct 31 2016, 07:41 PM

Can't wait for him to get lost for good.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 1 2016, 04:54 PM

Galliani had his days, and as a Milan fan I truly appreciate what he has done for the team. Having said that, his last years have been a complete disaster, and it is time for him to leave (don't even understand his latest statements, does he really expect to keep running the club?). And, yes, we are third, but the problems in the squad are quite clear, and that's mostly his responsibility.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 2 2016, 06:32 PM

Well I agree that they won't tell you it's a sh!tty car but they don't try to tell you it's a Ferrari either, which Galliani has constantly tried to do over the years. Remember that "il club piu titolato al mondo" propaganda when we were already slipping down?

I think he still thinks this is the 80s and people are still gullible and believe what you tell them simply because you're the club CEO

I'm not saying that he should be slamming the players, but he should stop trying to take people for a ride when everyone can see that quality is gravely lacking in this squad and the fact that we're 3rd for right now has nothing to do with the individual quality of the players

This is him trying to toot his own horn, almost giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done in the summer. Forgetting the fact that he made an entire mess of the mercato just like he has done for the past decade or so barring a few good moves which were later reversed (Silva, Ibra)

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 2 2016, 08:06 PM

We are linked to http://www.goal.com/it/news/3785/generazione-di-fenomeni/2016/11/02/20248102/profilo-riechedly-bazoer-gemma-dellajax-prossimo-colpo-del?ICID=AR_PN_1. Any insight on the dude?

Posted by: han2503 Nov 2 2016, 09:27 PM

He turns out great on FIFA

Posted by: X-Offender Nov 4 2016, 07:15 PM

Bowser?

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 5 2016, 09:11 AM

Milan are interested in 20 year old Argentine talent of River Plate, Sebastian Driussi. #TuttoSport

A Bola: Milan were one of 20+ teams attending the Champions League game between Benfica and Dynamo Kiev to scout Benfica defender Lindelöf.

Fabrizio Romano: Milan and Ajax will schedule a meeting to talk about Bazoer before the beginning of the winter transfer window.

Fabrizio Romano: Bazoer has convinced everyone at Milan, even Montella. Ajax value the player at €20M, but Milan are waiting for the closing before a move. Milan must make a decision on whether to invest this money on the midfielder in January, or wait until the summer.

Mirabelli this weekend will be in Rome to attend Roma-Bologna. He will closely observe Leandro Paredes. #TuttoSport

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 6 2016, 10:54 PM

Bazoer? Is he worth that money? Anyone seen him play?

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Nov 7 2016, 09:17 PM

I'd trust the the club did some scouting. If he will arrive then great, we need mids. If not then who would you suggest?

I would like Yaya as a personal preference.

Posted by: maldini03 Nov 8 2016, 03:15 AM

I've seen him play in a few games I watched for Ajax last year. He is a strong physical player. Not a towering player, but strong and fast, a box-to-box with decent vision/ passing abilities. His physicality, and all- around ability remind me a bit of Seedorf. Although I wouldn't really describe him as a recessed playmaker, but a good player to round out the midfield.

He's pretty young with room to grow, I would be excited about this purchase. He won't push the needle in any category of the game, but he could be a good building block.

For me, Yaya is past it. Was always a quality player but between his wages and his age, I think I would prefer a player like Bazoer. If they want to spend the money on a bigger name, I would prefer Cesc or Schweini, either one of those two would bring great quality to the midfield and the team in general.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 8 2016, 08:20 AM

At least in FM 2017 he looks quite good

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 9 2016, 02:41 AM

What's the argument here again? Isn't it obvious? We need both the Yaya's and the Bazoer's. Just remember van Bommel and how useful he turned out to be. We need seasoned leaders, players who can form a backbone to this youthful green team.

I'd prefer Serie A players, but sadly other then perhaps Marchisio (wildest dreams) I don't see a single midfielder that could join us and would be sufficiently good. We have to look elsewhere and try to sing players like Toure, Schweini, etc.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 9 2016, 12:53 PM

There were reports that Montella was after De Rossi.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Nov 9 2016, 06:46 PM

I read that De Rossi told him he wouldn't be leaving Roma.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 9 2016, 06:53 PM

That is why I wrote WAS.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 9 2016, 10:55 PM

Toure and Bastian would bring in another set of problems that we're all quite familiar with now. High wages, most likely both past their best.

I think we should be looking elsewhere at this point if we really do have the money.

Cesc is one name I'd look at. I'd still like to see us try and push for a Kovacic or heck, even Isco, who's warming the bench at Real. If we have cash, why not go for an honest to god marquee signing to really make a statement. Players who are very experienced but not past their prime is the demo we should be looking at. We should avoid repeating the mistakes of the past in order to try and right those previous said mistakes.

Also, I still think a top CB should be on the agenda. Paletta is simply not reliable. He's a good player, but generally a loose cannon. He was a lucky decision away from getting another red against Palermo and giving them a penalty last Sunday. He just simply doesn't learn. Also, when he or Alessio are out we're in trouble as Gomez and Zapata are our only other options which is far from comforting

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 10 2016, 12:28 AM

I don't get you Han. You say Toure or Schweini would open us up to problems with high wages but Cesc wouldn't?

Look, I don't think we can get past this wage issue. If we're gonna be big again we have to start by building on seasoned stars and splash money on their wages. The stingy wage politic won't bring us anywhere.

As for Kovačić, I think he solidified his position in Madrid and won't be moving anywhere.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Nov 10 2016, 02:21 AM

And I gave a reason as to why it is 'was' and not as 'is'.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 10 2016, 05:19 PM

Don't forget FFP, which means we can't increase wages unless we also increase revenue (hopefully our new investors will help drive the latter). Part of our problems is that we have been carrying relatively high wages (relative to most other Serie A teams) on mediocre players.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Nov 10 2016, 05:29 PM

Letting go of Mexes, Menez and the likes reduced the wage constraint. But its not enough, it just means the club has eased the pressure on a bloated wage budget. Today, as you so pointed out the club need to increase revenues, the sooner they do that, the sooner we can afford the players we all want. Otherwise primary focus is CL income and heavily marketing if Milan in Asian market. That said; they have 100M to burn through this winter. So I expect a reference point type of player arriving to kick start the new era. That said, our gate receipt should increase with interesting players coming in. And subject to our results continuing along these lines.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 10 2016, 10:29 PM

It's simple really, the former two are both way past their best. I was very in favour of the Schweinsteiger idea in the summer (we were desperate for someone like him and a lot was still uncertain). But now that we should have more readily available cash we should be aiming higher than players who are in the twilights of their careers who are big names and command high wages and basically have little left to give to this team. The latter on the other hand is still 29 years old and who I still regard as a great player who has a good few years left in him.

All three would come in with high wage demands, but if we're going to be paying a high wage, I'd rather it be on someone really worth it.

We've already gone through this countless times in the past, brought in players who are big names but are way past it, while paying them wages because of their big names and only that. It's part of the reason for our current problem and I would prefer it if we don't repeat those mistakes

I don't think cash will be as free flowing as we're all hoping for tbh. So that's why I believe we should really be careful when picking the so called bigger names that will be demanding the big wages. We need to make a couple of signings 3 of which should be big names. If my choices for the midfield were Cesc, Bastian and Yaya, I'd choose Cesc easily.


Isn't there some rule about clubs who are in the process of transferring ownership they're sort of given a "free pass" in the first year after the transition?

Still I think the Chinese will funnel in the cash through sponsors and not directly, which should have us covered on FFP


I think we have done tremendously well to really move a lot of baggage of that wage bill, there's still a lot of work to be done, because we still have players earning big money who don't deserve it but so far we're moving in the right direction compared to the obscene wages some of our players were earning to do nothing but be mediocre or sit on the bench

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 10 2016, 11:22 PM

So you rate Fabregas over Schweini and Toure? That's okay, agreed. But the salary argument is still very questionable. It's simple for me: if we wanna succeed, we have to start building a team around WC players. Since we cannot afford nor lure players like Messi, heck even Thiago Alcantara, we should settle for second or third bests. But I think it's absolutely vital to sign one or two of these kind of players.

Now you say we've done it countless time in the past. I think your memory is tricking you. Perhaps the last three big has-been but classy players we signed were Ronaldinho, Robinho and Torres. All others - Alex, Essien, Boateng (2nd term), etc. never even were that good to begin with. Also, they never constituted that kind of key players.

That being said, I'd sign Fabregas in a heartbeat, but I think Montella doesn't want him, yes?

Also I don't understand this whole wage thing? What do you guys suggest? How can we improve and start making steps forward without signing better players -- who'll demand better wages? And don't you think we need some experience right now? This is not the Milan of the past, this is a much different, younger, greener Milan with virtually no one who's played past the CL group stage more then a few matches.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 10 2016, 11:34 PM

Montella's position re: Fabregas is interesting and may point to his limitations. Is he concerned about getting "star players"?

As for "the wage thing", my understanding is that we need to increase revenue before we can pay big salaries. As pointed out by Rossoneri7, that may happen relatively quickly after the closing, possibly in the form of sponsorship and/or by marketing the Milan brand in the Far East. However, it is a necessary first step. We probably also need to get rid of some of our mediocre players that are drawing relatively large salaries (still have some of those).

In relation to "has-beens", Torres was not that long ago and happened at a time where we were struggling financially (and could have probably found better ways to use the money).

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 11 2016, 08:04 AM

No, so I think we space for one world class talent at around 7-10 million salary. Because we've chopped down our wage bill so much, there will be space to add that sort of wage.

I hear us linked to Schneiderlin, Depay, Caio,Mussachio and Lucas Lima. I really liked the look for Rodrigo Caio, great anticipation and positioning skills, though he had that Gustav Gomez tendency to rush forward. I think it's a S.American thing.

Schneiderlin might be a great move, unfortunately also risks cutting space for Locatelli- but I think it's fair to give Locatelli a taste of competition. Depay or someone like that I feel is very critical for us, because we need that wing forward. Right now we have no options for Niang or Suso if one were to be injured or out of form.

We'll have to see. I don't think Montella wants to buy too many huge players this winter window. Maybe we will land Milan Badelj.

--

I hope expectations are tempered though. Look, end of the day, we are a team that is currently overperforming. Our team is still Europe League class at best. We need to work from that perspective and not keep ambitions too crazy for the season.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 11 2016, 10:44 AM

Yes, we're overperforming, but other then Juventus and Roma, who do you think is CL class? Napoli? Lazio? Inter? Perhaps - but I don't see a big difference between us and them.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 11 2016, 11:01 AM

None of those clubs are performing at their best. True. But it doesn't mean they won't. So we're not halfway through the season yet.

I think if we finish in the top 6 (providing no major reinforcements are made in the winter), it would be a very creditable finish. To finish top 3, is a struggle. We will have to invest in 3 top class reinforcements for CB, Midfield and Wing. I don't see that sort of talent available. And I don't see why we should spend money to get B+ level talent, only for them to rot and stagnate us.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 11 2016, 11:20 AM

I don't understand why we should aim that low? Again, not based on performances, but taking a look at rosters of teams like Lazio or Napoli, I don't see anything special, anything much better. The only thing that they have is experience.

Therefore I'd take the risk, try get one or two WC players (I don't think Depay or Schneiderlin fit to that description) and make the assault for the 3rd place.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Nov 11 2016, 03:46 PM

We will get good players this winter and if we reach CL then a CL worthy squad.

But it won't be without constraints. As FFP will have us cornered like that.

Posted by: maldini03 Nov 12 2016, 01:45 AM

The problem is that it's the winter market, there aren't too many big stars out there for the grabbing midway through the season. The only name that is really circulating concerning top players is Cesc, and Montella doesn't want him for whatever reason.

I think we should target those players who have fallen out of favor and give them another shot to revitalize themselves here or go for proven Serie A players who can help up make a push. For me, Depay and Schneiderlin sound pretty good. I would also throw Bazoer and Caio into the list of good targets. At this point, I'm over the idea of Badelj coming. If it's the choice between bringing him in or continuing to play Locatelli, I think it's obvious where I stand. This team has continuity going for it. We are a scrappy underdog team, we should look to bring in players who fit that mentality.

There are also obvious dream players, Veratti, Berardi, Thiago Silva but I don't really see any of them coming here unless we are playing in the CL

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 12 2016, 07:19 AM

Mirabelli is working on building the new Milan. The objectives are a defender, midfielder and a winger (Honda is leaving).
[Sky Italia]

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 12 2016, 05:31 PM

Chelsea are ready to offer €60m for Romagnoli. Borussia Dortmund are interested in Suso. #CorSport

Posted by: han2503 Nov 12 2016, 10:16 PM

Well... Yes. Like I said, Fabregas still has a few good years left to offer while with the other 2 all the good years are now in the past which is why I think it's acceptable to give Cesc a high wage while I don't think the other 2 would be worth it.

Look, we've been doing this kind of signing for years now, you can look back all the way to Redondo and Rivaldo. It general y always tended to hurt us in the long run. And I'm not even saying that Cesc would be a full proof signing either, he could turn into another dud that weighs heavily on out wage budget doing nothing but warming the bench, I just this it's less likely with him, more likely with the other 2

Also, I agree with you that we shouldn't be signing players who can barely qualify as above average to good. We should be looking at better if we want to compete seriously. And I think we should have a much better mixture of young and experienced in the squad. I just think we should be a lot more selective when purchasing the experienced players to make sure they're not only just a big name, but ones that can truly make a difference. We can't be just jumping on the first big name we can land simply because of just that.


Yeah, we should set a budget for the big name players we want to sign. I don't think we'll be as willing to part with big amounts as we might think (hope) so the big signings we do make have to be spot on and we can't waste big amounts for players who would end up doing nothing of use for us.

Badelj would just be a cheap and easy stop gap solution, certainly better than what we currently have but won't really make a huge jump in quality for out midfield.


Agreed there


But I think we'll be working around that by funnelling money is through sponsors. I don't think there'll be a "sugar daddy" of sorts signing checks to buy this player or that


I disagree about look signing players who fit the mould of "scrappy". We should be looking at much better so we can make a jump in quality. If we're going to be signing more of the same (.i.e Galliani style signing), then I'd rather we stay as we are and let the current crop grow as a team


Well at least the correct positions are being looked at. For once we're not linked to a striker (which is always reason to celebrate at this club)


They can p!ss off.

I really don't understand the Chelsea link considering Conte totally snubbed Romagnoli this summer.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 13 2016, 01:24 AM

On the other hand, Fabregas never was or will be half of the player Bastian is/was. But yes, I get your point.

Redondo is a very bad example though. We signed him at his peak, but injuries ruined his career.

The difference is, back then we had plenty of experience in our roster, while additions like Amoroso or even Rivaldo were unnecessary. Now we need quality and experience. We signed Rivaldo to make up for Boban and Albertini. But it turned out so that Pirlo and a very young Kaka made a surprise blast and cemented their first XI position. But this wasn't expected. Nowadays a 31 year old Rivaldo, winner of the WC, would be more then welcome and surely would have a secured spot.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 14 2016, 06:52 AM

Surprisingly, a few interesting blog pieces up on Football Italia. Not the usual obvious stuff stretched out over 200 words.

Also an interesting interview with Mihaijlovic. He criticises Berlusconi quite a bit.

- He was forced to play a 4-3-1-2 because of Berlusca. He dropped it after the Napoli defeat and decided enough was enough.
- Romagnoli was considered too expensive by the management. He declared to Berlusca that if Milan sell him for less than the 25 MM they pay for him, he'd personally reimburse Milan the difference. But if they sold him for more, he would pocket the difference. Made a joke that last season Chelsea offered 60 MM.
- Berlusca kept insisting to play Diego Lopez over Donnarumma. Miha gave an ultimatum, that either he fire Miha or keep Miha and Donnarumma starts.
- Said the one person who helped him the most was Galliani and that he considers him a friend.
- Also mentioned his one regret as not being the coach when we played the Coppa Italia final against Juve. Insisted that we would have won with him on the bench.

A few interesting tidbits here.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Nov 14 2016, 08:50 PM

In the past, yes. But currently? Bastian at his best won't be as good as Cesc at his worst.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 15 2016, 06:19 AM

They're both shite. Sell Romagnoli, buy Wilshere.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 15 2016, 11:53 AM

Well it's obvious Miha is still p!ssed off about last season and it's with good reason too

This basically confirms my theory that Berlu and Galliani have been in a little contest with each other to see who can find the next big name in coaching. It's basically The Apprentice: Coaching edition

We've seen this same sh!t being pulled from them on a regular basis now. Allegri was Galliani's pick so he did everything to defend him while Silvio publicly shamed him. And in the end Galliani had to fire him against his will basically. Then came Seedorf who Silvio wanted and Galliani didn't. Galliani had to practically have the pen pried out of his hand to allow Seedorf to sign that contract. And when Seedorf started criticising the transfer market deals and the quality he had on the roster Galliani nearly had a coronary. Galliani then jumped on the opportunity of the player unrest within the squad because Seedorf was hard on a lot of the players who then turned against him. So Galliani managed to convince Silvio that he wasn't the right guy for the job

Then came Pippo who was a combination of both Silvio and Galliani's idea (at least that's the feeling I have) who was a total and complete nightmare, but they allowed him to at least finish the season

And then came Miha, who was Galliani's idea and Silvio clearly didn't like him but went along with it. Thus ending up with Silvio petulantly firing him just a few games out from the end of the season while still in the EL places only to appoint Brocchi, who Silvio was heavily in favour of, and if it were up to him, we'd still be stuck with coach Brocchi

It's just disgusting at this point. And it's another reason why we should be celebrating this circus finally being about to come to an end.

Don't know if it was posted here, but Galliani has confirmed that these will be the final 3 weeks in his position as CEO (and everything else) of Milan


Agreed

We'll be paying a high wage either way. So I'd rather we pay that for someone who still has a bit more to offer. We should have tried to get Bastian earlier, he always indicated that he would have joined Milan if given the opportunity. Now I think it would just be a pointless move for both parties involved


DO IT!!!

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 16 2016, 06:05 AM

Anyone saw the Italy friendly? Sell Bacca, buy Belotti?

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 16 2016, 07:43 AM

More like Grumpy Old Men.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 16 2016, 11:38 AM

Yeah, Belotti looks like the read deal

Plus he's a Milan fan and won't act like a petulant child when things don't go his way like Bacca does. Or basically court any attention from clubs in the CL but when only WHU are interested he decides to stay.

I really want to see us selling Bacca this summer. He's not the type of striker we need, plus he's certainly not the personality we need in the dressing rooms.

Belotti would be a great buy, but he wouldn't come cheap. We'd basically have to put in anything we get from Bacca's sale (around 30m most likely - if that) and add another 10. Cairo has already slapped a 60m release clause in his new contract so we'd have to shell out above 40m for sure. Especially if he keeps scoring at the rate he is atm



On another note, Romagnoli has a muscle problem which he picked up yesterday, so if he's out, we're f@cked! And if it's something long term, we're double-f@cked!

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 16 2016, 03:57 PM

http://www.goal.com/it/news/7/calciomercato/2016/11/16/29564922/donnarumma-dal-retroscena-juventus-a-raiola-via-dal-milan-non-lo-?ICID=HP_HN_1. I simply do not trust Riola.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 16 2016, 08:24 PM

In the end Donna will be the one who decides whether he stays or goes.

The important thing right now is to give him a good contract so we lock him down as soon as he turns 18. If we sell him in the future that will give us the upper hand when negotiating

That being said, WE (as in the club) shouldn't be the party pushing for the move to happen, if we're going to continue being a selling club then we'll know that this sale was fruitless. We need to be able to resist any and all offers as long as the player wants to stay, we shouldn't be trying to manoeuvre for a sale because of a huge cash injection

For now I'm not worried. Raiola (love him or hate him) generally just looks out for his client's best interests. If they want to stay he makes sure they have a great contract and if they want to leave he'll make sure they go to the best option for them and for him

Raiola won't push Donna to leave, if Donna leaves it's because it's his choice, and we all know you can't keep a player that has his heart set elsewhere. And should that situation arise we better make sure to get a record deal for him.

Also, just think back to the Zlatan situation, Raiola wasn't the one who pushed for the move even though it would benefit him a lot financially. Galliani was the one pushing Ibra out against his will. Raiola was willing to do as Zlatan decided. And when a move became inevitable he made sure to negotiate the best deal for his client.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 17 2016, 09:39 AM

I agree we should try to keep him, and that includes giving him a good contract as well as not putting him on the market. However, I do not share your optimism relating to Raiola. Yes, he will work in the interest of his clients ... to a point. I believe he makes most of his money on transfers, so you have to expect him to be nudging his clients in that direction whenever he can.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 17 2016, 08:50 PM

True, but if that were the case Ibra would have left Paris earlier, rather than just going to United for free (for example) Sure he made a pile of cash from the Pogba sale, but that's not the case for all his players

He gets a cut out of any wages his players make so getting them the best contract, no matter where they're playing is also an important factor

Like I said, I personally think that this all comes down to the will of the player, if Donna wants to stay, he'll stay, no matter what is whispered in his ear. If he wants to go, he'll go

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 17 2016, 09:31 PM

He should stay. With the new management lined-up, I think he will.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Nov 17 2016, 10:11 PM

Yes they are! But Romagnoli we should sell to Chelsea for the 50 million. Get two defenders with the 50M. Afterall, its a team in rebuilding and I do not see a Nesta in Romagnoli at the moment plus its rare for such coincidences. Bring back Silva!

Posted by: han2503 Nov 17 2016, 11:04 PM

We'll see, Raiola already indicated this. He's said that they want to see who the new owners will be and what their intentions are before committing.

I just hope that a good contract is already lined up for when he turns 18 and we lock him down for the next 5 years. We should also put in a ridiculous release clause in there, and if someone comes knocking we just point to that. Either pay up or gtfo sucker!


????!!

No no no!

Selling Romagnoli would be a huge mistake. I can't believe anyone would even consider this, especially for the measly sum of 50m. If David Luiz is worth that Alessio is worth double! FFS why do we try to devalue our players so much. We have a handful of gems in this team, we either guard them with our lives or we bleed anyone buying them dry!

This is a symptom of being under Galliani's influence for so long. Selling Silva and Ibra for a combined 60m was one of the most ridiculous deals ever made, and we've come to the point where we simply accept such garbage deals and we're okay with giving any and all our players away for practically nothing

Juve sell their bench warmers for huge sums, we can't get a single penny for Menez, Just ridiculous

Romagnoli is an exceptionally talented CB. And people seem to forget that he's only 21. He's mature beyond his years in the way he plays, selling out to get Chelsea's breadcrumbs would be stupid. 50m won't get us someone who has a potential threshold as high as Alessio's, and it certainly won't get us two of them.

And please, forget about Silva. He's not coming here. He'll most likely extend at PSG because he's comfortable there. If we have money available we simply should not be looking to sell ANY of our players. This sell to buy thing is also another syndrome of the Galliani disease. If we have cash, as we're supposedly going to, then we shouldn't be selling our best players to try and replace them with other ones. We should be ADDING to what we have, not making one step forward and two backwards

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 18 2016, 08:04 AM

In general, I agree with what you say. However, we will not get infinite money, at least not right away, so we will have to do some selling (preferable Bacca and not Romagnoli).

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 18 2016, 10:43 AM

Looks like https://uk.yahoo.com/sports/news/chelsea-set-entice-ac-milan-164112923.html

Posted by: maldini03 Nov 18 2016, 02:26 PM

I'm also with Han in saying that Romag should be untouchable. At the moment he is one of the world's best young defenders, he may never make it to the level of Nesta but that doesn't matter he is a rock at the back and this team needs to build a good spine if we are to ever challenge again. We can clear all of the dead wood if we need money but to sell our core young players turns us into a feeder team. The best teams don't sell their best and brightest unless they can do so and improve, and with the lack of quality young defenders out there, it's much better to be a have, than a have not.

If we need money, Bacca should be the first lamb to go. He could easily fetch 25 - 30M on the market. He is far too one dimensional and his attitude sucks. He is a good finisher, but if the team can create opportunities, then anyone can become a great striker. He adds nothing to build up play, his passing is horrible, and he often makes stupid unforced errors, plus he is at his peak.

I know it was said before but Belotti is really starting to come into his own. I think he will be a star. He is physically very capable and he can play off of another striker while also creating his own opportunities. But, he will come with a hefty price tag. Perhaps we can sweeten the deal with one of our players going the other way but I can't see him coming for less than 35- 40M, which at this point seems out of our price range. I know he isn't capable of being our star but Petagna has also been having a good season with Atalanta, perhaps he can come back here if we get rid of Adriano and Bacca.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 18 2016, 09:40 PM

I'm not saying we should be spending cash around like it's going out of style ala PSG, City, Monaco (when they had the funds). But let's be smart about it. I don't think we'll have free flowing cash, no matter how much we're hoping that will be the case. But I do think we're going to be financially secure enough to be able to resist offers for our best players and won't be in the current desperate situation where we sell our best players to balance the books at the end of the year.

So, what I am expecting from the new owners is to build slowly on the good young foundation we've managed to build. I think we'll do better when it comes time to removing some of the unnecessary baggage we're still carrying around and we'll do better with selling our decent players (which aren't really part of our plans) and making sure we earn decent cash for them (Bacca, Adriano, Poli, Kucka, etc) If we start selling these guys gradually and replace them with better quality players then we'll be on the right track without having to break the bank


Meh, there's a new rumour every day about Donna. He's basically the best young keeper around and is still at an age where it's easier to get him since he doesn't have a fully professional contract (I think this is why we haven't offered a concrete deal yet). Once he turns 18 and we tie him down to an iron clad contract that makes both him and his agent happy, these rumours will die down

Look I have to believe that Donna is in the club's long term plans. It's the reason why we let Lopez leave on loan with basically only Gabriel being our other option. I don't think they would have been so cavalier about the situation had they had even an inkling that he will move.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 18 2016, 09:41 PM

Agreed completely

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Nov 19 2016, 06:48 AM

That is what got you disappointed in the first place, my recommendation is not to expect from the management and use the clubs financial statement as a guage in if we are growing or imploding as it really is simply just a function of that.

As for romagnoli, he ain't exactly Nesta and we have sold better players when we were at a much higher standard than today (ie Shevchenko). Dont get me wrong Id like to keep him and add one more, but if an offer of 50-60 came in, even Nesta would be sold

Posted by: han2503 Nov 19 2016, 10:30 AM

This is the thinking that got us into this mess imo

No, we shouldn't sell our best players.

Look at Juve, they sold their best, but why? Vidal wanted to go and so did Pogba. When the players were still willing to stay that resisted offers. And this is basically the case for all the big clubs, they keep their stars. They don't sell them off to the first bidder


And selling Nesta for 60m in today's market would be unthinkable. Come on now! He's one of the greatest defenders to ever play the game. For me (as a CB) he's better than Paolo, better than Canna and all the other modern era CBs playing right now.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 24 2016, 07:30 PM

Fabrizio Romano: William Carvalho has been proposed to Milan and Juve by his entourage. He has a €45m release clause, but Sporting could listen to offers of €35m.

Ajax and Bazoer have reached an agreement on a transfer fee. The midfielder is allowed to leave the club in January for €13m. #DeTelegraaf

Valencia are interested in Bacca according to Mundo Deportivo.

Donnarumma's brother: "Gigio won't leave Milan for any club in the world. He is really happy with the Rossoneri."

Possible swap Sosa-Sneijder between Milan & Galatasaray. #Fotosport

Galliani met Belotti's agent in recent days. #QSSport

Berlusconi: "The Chinese asked me to stay as an honourary president to benefit from my experience."

Berlusconi: "In order to remain as a honorary president I want to have a say on the market and tactics."

Berlusconi for GdS: "December 13th all will be closed. On that day Milan will be sold, or I'll take it back."

Milan targets for January:
Milan Badelj
Matias Vecino
Ruben Semedo
Victor Lindelof
Mateo Kovacic
Isco

[ManuBaio].

Fenerbahce are interested in signing Jose Sosa in January and have already initiated contacts with Milan. #Fotomac

Posted by: han2503 Nov 24 2016, 08:49 PM

My God. Silvio needs to shut that ugly trap of his!

He can't take anything back, it's out of his hands, Fininvest won't allow it under any circumstances at this point, they've been waiting for this moment for years.

And no, an honorary president won't get a say in the transfer market let alone the tactics

This guy has really gone senile

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 25 2016, 05:52 AM

It's funny how the two things he wants to do the most are the two things we crib about the most when it comes to him.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 25 2016, 07:26 AM

Milan are interested in signing Santi Cazorla. His contract expires in June 2017. #MundoDeportivo


The players Mirabelli has scouted:
Rudy
Bazoer
Badelj
Fabregas
Ruben Semedo
Ricardo Rodriguez
Keita
Paredes
Krejčí
Tielemans
[CorSport]

Those in bold are my personal favorites, but lets see what happens.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Nov 25 2016, 12:17 PM

I'm guessing he'll end up at Juve, but I would love this. Probably the biggest reason, alongside Ronaldo, as to why Portugal won the Euros. He's a monster.

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 25 2016, 04:09 PM

Mirabelli has attended 14 games and observed 32 players:
Fabregas, Bazoer, Isco, Badelj, Keita, De Vrij, Bernardeschi, Vecino, Tielemans, Dolberg, Semedo, Carvalho, Nelson Martins, Kovacic, Mahrez, Tadic, Alexis Sanchez, Kjaer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Sule, Rudy, Gnabry, Tolisso, Fekir, Mammana, Papu Gomez, Conti, Kessie, Joao Pedro, Paredes, Krejci, Belotti.
#CorSport

Mr. Bee was in Milano and had a meeting with Berlusconi at Arcore. #CorSera

Bacca has a verbal agreement with Milan that in case of the arrival of a €30m offer he would leave. PSG remain interested [L'Equipe].

Posted by: X-Offender Nov 25 2016, 07:46 PM

Posted by: X-Offender Nov 25 2016, 07:48 PM

Actually, why don't we consider Goetze as well? He's barely a starter at Dortmund anymore.

Posted by: han2503 Nov 25 2016, 08:39 PM

Rodriguez would also be an amazing add. And Semedo looks like a very interesting player as well


Hmm, not sure if he can cut it here if he's not even getting time at Dortmund, what happened to him anyway?

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 25 2016, 09:49 PM

He is quite good, but I dont see us droping or selling De Sciglio right now. We also have Antonelli in that position. If we sell him, maybe we could invest, but RB position is more urgent to invest in, IMO.

Posted by: amancik Nov 27 2016, 07:21 AM

Maybe not this winter but I think we should go for Belotti in the summer. Cash in Bacca.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 27 2016, 04:10 PM

Götze? I think he would cost us much while too many if's would be involved.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 28 2016, 07:37 AM

Haha. #DreamModeOn

But it's not a very Italian team at all.

Tbh, I won't touch that backline unless we land Musacchio. Though another option I've been pondering is that of Ivanovic. He's an old head, worked with a lot of tactical coaches and has great experience. Might be the Alpha that Romagnoli needs.

Otherwise I think the current lineup is fine. I want Gomez to play and get better. Benching him and effectively making him third choice makes it a futile investment.

Tbh, the only person I'd want for mid-field is Naby Keita of RB Leipzig. He's physical but has excellent dribbling and passing abilities. As for the forward line, I think mainly thanks to Bonventura who's in my opinion the most critical piece in our attack, we're fine as we are.

I'd sell Bacca only in the summer. If we truly are going by current performances, we should aim hard to hit the CL places and now is the moment, with Juve missing Bonucci for two months and Alves for three.


--Abate---Paletta---Romagnoli---Antonelli---
------------------Locatelli----------------------
---Kucka/Keita-----------------Jack/Berto----
Suso------------Lapagol/Bacca-----Niang/Jack



I'd probably only get focus on getting rid of extra squad players- Adriano,Ely, Vangioni,Honda,

I think we can expect a round figure of 20 million from these sales. Plop another 15 million and you've got the kind of money to make a splash on Keita. 35 million would be great, since Leipzig bought him for 11. Plus, he's only 21.

Posted by: Danny Nov 28 2016, 02:55 PM

Not seen it in this thread but Bacca now training back at Sevilla.

Posted by: X-Offender Nov 28 2016, 04:32 PM

You do realize that with the Chinese money we should aim at the scudetto and advance as far as possible in the CL. With the team we currently have we're nowhere near good enough.



Not training with them, just visited them at their training grounds.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 28 2016, 05:11 PM

But do we get Chinese money? The takeover is being pushed again. And one last extension is all Silvio is willing to give? Post that he pockets the 100 million and we are back to the good old days. :/

Posted by: han2503 Nov 28 2016, 08:35 PM

We'll see, I don't think it's as cut and dry as that. I'm sure no one wants to lose a 100m, so the consortium guys will make sure that things get done

That and they already have guys like Fassone and Mirabelli on the payroll, it wouldn't make sense to have them going around Europe watching games and scouting players if the deal was on the brink of collapsing

Posted by: han2503 Nov 28 2016, 08:40 PM

Berlusconi: 'Milan has been sold'

Milan President Silvio Berlusconi said the club “is already sold and those who don’t want me or Riccardo Montolivo will be happy.”

The patron said this weekend that he could postpone the closing by six to eight weeks if Chinese investors needed more time to provide financial guarantees.

“"Milan are already sold",” Berlusconi told Carta Bianca on Rai 3 today.

"“There are difficulties for the buyers, who occupy a position of notable value within the Chinese economy, in getting the authorisation needed to export capital from China."

"“The closing is still set for December 13 and, if the authorisation does not come, or we don’t have the certainty if the capital being deposited by them to international banks, we’ll have nothing against postponing the closing by a month or a month and a half.”"

What does Berlusconi think about the fans who say Milan do well when Berlusconi is absent from San Siro and so is captain Montolivo?

"“Well they’'ll be happy soon: after December 13 I will be in the past, that is a fact, and Montolivo will be out for a few more months, so according to them Milan will win everything.”"

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Nov 28 2016, 10:46 PM

CorSera: December 2 will be an important date to understand what will happen with the closing. If the Chinese will not get the permission from the government, they will ask for a postponement. Berlusconi will ask from Sino Europe to pay €50-100m as a guarantee. The list of investors should be revealed on December 2. The January transfer market could be shared between the parties.

Even if the closing gets delayed, the Chinese will likely be financing the January transfer window. [Corriere Della Sera]

Posted by: Danny Nov 29 2016, 03:03 AM

Pretty sure the reports were that he was training with them 'with permission from Milan'.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 29 2016, 05:00 AM

http://www.calciomercato.com/news/10-domande-a-fassone-ecco-le-risposte-il-closing-slitta-ma-ci-sa-73920 says the new owners will not finance any transfers if the closing slips. Would need to be financed by Berlu (which is not likely to happen) or through the sale of other players (like Bacca).

Posted by: Forza Milan! Nov 29 2016, 05:00 AM

<removed duplicate post>

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 29 2016, 06:13 AM

Yeah it makes sense. Too many people confusing the 100 MM payout as for Milan's transfer chest. It isn't. It's the advance payment on the actual purchase.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 29 2016, 06:50 AM

An interesting read on Milan's tactics this season (you know how anal I'am about tactics). I don't agree with this reading entirely but some parts of it are true.

http://www.footballwhispers.com/blog/a-tactical-look-at-montellas-milan

I especially like this extract

The bolded part rings true. Yet it doesn't concern me. It's how some of the best teams around are being built without huge cash reserves. Take the example of Atletico Madrid,Liverpool, Leipzig and the club that started it all - Dortmund.

The concept of a team whose entire drive is derived from the manager, yet have no outstanding players/champions of their own. Being greater than the sum of its parts.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 29 2016, 12:27 PM

Not by chance do you mention some great teams, very successful, but losers nevertheless. As soon as we get reinforcements (real ones) we gotta turn the tide and try play more constructive football.

Posted by: Danny Nov 29 2016, 12:53 PM

Can't call La Liga champions losers, Pippo.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Nov 29 2016, 01:01 PM

Not clear what you mean. Atletico and Dortmund were both champions. Leipzig are top of the standings. Liverpool have just started.

Posted by: X-Offender Nov 29 2016, 03:18 PM

No no, he was just present at their training grounds. I saw the pictures. Training with them would make absolutely zero sense since he's a Milan player.

Posted by: Danny Nov 29 2016, 04:06 PM

Exactly why some fans were so annoyed. There was definite confusion over why he was there anyway, but it's not helped with relations between he and our fans.

Posted by: Danny Nov 29 2016, 04:08 PM

Liverpool were the dark horse this season. With City getting Pep, the unknown of Leicester, Utd spending the cash and getting Jose while Chelsea spent solid and got Conte, no one really paid attention to Liverpool.

I did though. I knew they had the tools to be a real contender - not the absolute best squad but a manager with all the likeability of Carlo but the steel of Simeone.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 29 2016, 09:54 PM

But they essentially are. I get your point. They won the La Liga, and considering the competition they had, it's amazing. But they'll never surpass that step and become true big teams. They will always be the club that brings you to the team that's the real deal, the real package - Champions League titles, history, constant success.


Leipzig is just another Kaiserlautern at best. The Bundesliga right now is a complete and utter joke. As for Dortmund, they'll always be the supply-club for Bayern München, for God's sake, look at Lewi, Götze, Hummels... Then, when Bayern sometimes make a hiccup, they'll maybe be there to pick up the pieces. Once in a while.

Posted by: Danny Nov 30 2016, 02:48 AM

You're being incredibly harsh! There are literally only two clubs on earth these days that really are the 'real deal', and that's Barca and Real.

Even marquee clubs like Man Utd and Bayern cannot get the truly best players - yet of the above four what's the most number of UCL finals among all four? Two - jointly held by Real and your chums Atletico. Not even Barca have managed that.

I do understand where you're coming from, in focusing on the traditional names of the sport and the pedigree they will always hold. But there has been a sea change these past five years with Borussia and Atletico not to mention Juve featuring heavily at the summit of football while Bayern, Man Utd, Barca, ourselves and even Inter have all utterly faded.

The only place players can go from Atletico, Chelsea, Utd and Bayern is Barca and Real, and that's because those two are a law unto themselves.

Atletico, like PSG and Dortmund, can consider themselves at the top table these days, even if the absolute summit is Barca and Real. And you can add Leicester and Leipzig to that too!

Posted by: Danny Nov 30 2016, 02:56 AM

To be blunt while Europe has traditionally had England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy as its premier leagues, nowadays none of them holds the same allure they once did.

England struggles with quality - a total lack of it. It has money, but cannot attract the truly great players. The standard of football is modest for the outlay spent.

Germany struggles with an imbalance of power - Bayern remain the top dog and everyone else is competing for second place. It's a strange league which occasionally produces a Leipzig.

Italy is regaining a little credibility at the moment, with the return of us and Roma as credible top 3 teams. But it's a hundred miles of the glory years when it was alone at the top of world football.

France is a lesser Germany, with PSG its benchmark while everyone else jostles for position. Monaco and Nice giving it a nice fight this year and hopefully that will spell a stronger period for the rest of the league, but generally it's just not a competitive or especially high quality league.

And lastly Spain is probably the best now - it has three marquee clubs in Barca, Real and Atletico, while Sevilla flirt with being great too. It's got the most number of strong clubs while the rest of the league is pretty solid as well. But it's not filled with about 8 super sides like it used to be - once upon a time it was Barca, Real, Sevilla, Villarreal, DLC, Valencia, and Sociedad.

Every league has suffered in recent years. Standard of football has gone down, and that's never more evident than the lousy Euros and world cups we've had in the past four years.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Nov 30 2016, 09:13 AM

But players still want to join ManU and especially Bayern, any player in the world would accept their offer IMO bar a few. How can you say Bayern and Barca have utterly faded? Barcelona won the CL against Juventus two seasons ago?

Yes, you are right. We're living in a bipolar world of Real and Baca domination, and thanks to Guardiola even Bayern wasn't able to mix in.

But the "pack mentality" teams is our main topic. It doesn't come as a surprise and it isn't by coincidence that all those clubs ain't exactly the biggest names in their respective leagues. Dortmund only recently got competitive and on a constant good level. Atletico wins the league every 10-20 years. Yes, two CL finals, both lost. That's like Valencia. Yes, I'm very harsh, but I think there's a reason traditionally big clubs like Bayern or ManU (up until now) avoided such a approach.

Back to our main topic. I think Milan is playing ugly and undefined football primarily out of necessity. The "pack mentality" hasn't yet gel with us and become our core approach, which is good. We have to make changes ASAP, because this tactic is just Montella doing his best with very limited resources. This is why I think we have to sign more different midfielders plus one alpha defender.

Posted by: kurtsimonw Nov 30 2016, 10:21 AM

Leipzig were one of the highest spenders in Germany this summer and Liverpool have spent roughly £400m since 12/13.

I tend to side with Fillipo on this and it's very much a modern day thing. A team has a small spell of success and suddenly they're one of the best clubs in the World. The same goes for players, people are already throwing ridiculous labels around for Donnarumma despite him having not played 50 games in his career. It's just the modern obsession of having to label everything and throw superlatives around.

Dortmund and Atletico are good examples of this. Dortmund won a couple of titles domestically, but outside of 1 good CL season did nothing else - including a group exit in a pretty weak group. Atletico won 1 title, but have fared better in the CL. But the fact is, to be a success you have to have success. Being the 2nd best team and usually finishing 2nd isn't success. Being the 3rd best team and usually finishing 3rd isn't success. I wouldn't call Roma and Arsenal successful for winning a few trophies but usually finishing in their standard league positions.

Posted by: Danny Nov 30 2016, 03:23 PM

Mainly because Bayern showed little in Europe under Pep and Barca are no longer the benchmark of European club football. No one club really is. But Barca's (admittedly earned) rep precedes them so they still remain a law unto themselves. Players don't want to join Man Utd - Pogba was an exception based on his formerly being a Utd player and the utterly stupid fee they were willing to pay, and Ibra has, sadly, been a dud there. No truly great players have joined Utd in the past few seasons.



Man Utd have been a shambles since SAF left. Their allure is gone.



I absolutely agree. I think this system is effective but not great to watch, and Montella is getting the most out of what he has - which is terrific management. And I think next window is essential to bring in a few players to enhance it and develop it. Couldn't agree more on your choices of position requiring filling.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 2 2016, 12:38 AM

Looking less and less likely that we will get Chinese money for the Winter transfer market. Up to B&G to fund it, plus they will need approval from the future owners. Not good ...

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 2 2016, 12:40 AM

Goddammit.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 2 2016, 07:51 AM

Look, if our targets remain Europe, we are fine as we are.

If our targets remain CL, we need a midfielder or we need Bertolacci to suddenly turn into Modric.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 2 2016, 11:38 AM

Naah, cross Berto off, we need at least 2 capable players, one good midfielder and one more experienced defender.

Posted by: Danny Dec 2 2016, 01:17 PM

January is a bust alas. The sale is fine, the approval for export of Chinese cash is the problem. We won't be getting anything exciting in January.

Totally not predictable (!)

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 2 2016, 03:05 PM

Trust in Berto...and Sosa...and Mati Fernandez.

On a serious note, what are you guys' thoughts on selling off Zapata? We can make a pretty buck for him, but I'm not sure if our depth is good enough.

Also wondering if he should be tried out at LB. It's a position he's used to play before.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 2 2016, 08:13 PM

Jack, I've never seen anyone who overrates our players as much as you do. Seriously, 50% of our roster is trash, and the other 50% consists of mediocre players whom Montella is utilizing to their fullest.

Paletta is somebody we loaded off because of how bad he was with us during his first spell. And at 30 that was his highest achievement! Gomez is an absolute nobody that's still a big question mark. De Sciglio barely plays a match where he performs above average. Kucka was a Genoa reject that was going to sign for frigging Bursaspor. Locatelli is a young Montolivo doppelgänger. Niang is the clumsiest player to have worn this shirt after Traore. The list goes on.

The only players I think have what it takes to feature in a top European club are Donnarumma (who's still 17!!!), Abate, Romagnoli, Bonaventura, Suso and Bacca to an extent.

We all know it's a miracle we're 2nd at this point, so let's not get over ourselves.

Posted by: Danny Dec 3 2016, 04:54 PM

This year's award for Grumpiest Milanisti goes to!

Posted by: Danny Dec 3 2016, 04:55 PM

We have Antonelli for LB. One of the best in the league when on form. For me, it's a non-issue.

Zaps is surplus now - he and Romagnoli would never work, and he and Paletta never worked. So yeah, if we can get a few quid, good idea.

Posted by: maldini03 Dec 5 2016, 03:50 AM

I'd be up for selling Zapata too, we should clean house, and only bring players in if we send some out. For me, the outbound list should include: Gabriel (I have heard he doesn't want to sit on the bench & we can sign an experienced sub), Vangioni (was a mistake), Zapata, Mati, Sosa, Honda, Adriano, and if he wants to go and we can make a buck Bacca.

I know Bacca is a controversial issue here because he started the season red-hot but I don't like that he went to Sevilla and hung out at their training ground and whined that it's not a good time for him here. Plus his attitude on the field is terrible and he has on more than one occasion complained about coming off after having a poor game. He doesn't involve himself in the build up at all either, and he is a horrid passer. That being said, he is a world class poacher which is always nice to have but we have a lot of dead money in him, and he is dropping in value quickly. Perhaps Emery and PSG will come calling, and I wouldn't be upset to see his back. If he does go, though, we aren't fine as we are, we would need another forward. I'd say Gabbiadini would be a solid option. He is versatile enough to play along with the front three and could use some consistent playing time.

I'd like to see another defender come in as well, Sakho would be a good (cheap) option. He is still relatively young and is quite athletic for a cb which is always a good trait.

But, a midfielder should be our top priority, and I would like it to be one who sends a message that there is money coming and we intend to build something real here. A young promising player or an older highly skilled option to bump the quality through the team. Aside from that, I think that we should stand pat and keep pushing the youth project, see how far it can get us this year before some major money comes in this summer.


Not too much to ask right?

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 5 2016, 07:00 AM

Haha. If I put in #sarcasm everywhere in my post, it gets boring.

I hear you, but I'm not really against this whole Montella getting the fullest out of player thing. That's how coaching and team play works.

Niang had an off-day against Crotone, it happens. He's been one of our most over-used players for one, and for another yesterday's game just illustrated why Jack is probably the most important attacking player we have. No Jack, no party(read this on twitter ). Pasalic will take some time to get used to that role.

Of course it is a miracle we are in 2nd. But the question is what next - what's the end game here? Outside of the European places point objective?

Does Montella use this year to build the spine of the team, truly decide the players he wants to keep/develop and then build on it (in other words prepare for a long term project ~5-6 years) or do we go crazy like Inter and buy 'top' players for big bucks and hope it all fits in.

I like Gustavo Gomez, he has guts and not even one full season in Serie A. He'll come good I feel. Paletta is a stop gap-sure, but he complements Romagnoli wonderfully and this is important for us. I suppose we could see if we can land someone who will do the same role that Stam did for us a decade ago.

Maybe Ivanovic?

If Bacca goes, then I don't know who. I know Gabbadiani is interesting(good call there maldini03) but he'd require playing time, and we have just one striker. But having him as a competition/rotation to both Suso and Niang would be a good idea.

What I like about this team and why I'm so happy is that people are stepping up at different phases of the season to make it count for the team, in addition to Bonaventura being beautifully brilliant throughout.


1. Bacca on Fire
2. Niang pulling us along with goals and won penalties
3. Suso going majestic
4. Lapagol mania!


Actually this is what gives me faith, more than if we were getting pulled along by one star player. Roma for example are going to lose Salah to the ACN, and will be properly Dzeko dependent.

Montella meanwhile with all his squad rotation is actually in my opinion getting minutes into player's legs. I'm hopeful this will serve us well in the second half of the season.

Anyway, I've rambled.

For this winter - I believe we must clean house and bring in replacements only as we need. My focus would be on a winger. For midfield, I'm not yet sure. Not in favour of buying someone just to fill in the numbers. It's either a top name who goes straight to the Starting XI or fine as we are.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 5 2016, 10:51 AM

I read on twitter that we are planning to land Atalanta's Gagliardini in January but continue to loan him to Atalanta till the end of the season.

I know Atalanta are doing great, but how is this player? Unlike the old days I no longer watch random Serie A matches, only the Milan ones.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 5 2016, 04:06 PM

Yup, real happy with Montella. I think that given the team he has he is doing an amazing job.


My sense is that even once we get money it will be a slower build up rather than "instant gratification". But this is just a WAG. Also, for whatever reason B&G are not allowing Montella to talk to the new management, so any advance scouting been done is not coordinated with him.


I think we need to fix some serious issues. However, I have low expectations for this winter. If B&G are still in charge, then expect young-ish Italian players, including some unknowns.


... like, for example ...

Posted by: maldini03 Dec 8 2016, 03:02 PM

The fact that the closing has been pushed back again is beginning to give me some pause about this sale. With Renzi the PM stepping down, I'm sure Berlusconi has an eye on the gov again. Maybe he is looking to use us at a tool for his political success once again...

The bigger issue is how this will affect our winter transfer market. If we want sustained success we must sell and buy this window. There are players who are unsettled out there that would be good investments (Bazoer, Max Meyer, Goretzka, Draxler) these guys would all be good additions. I would also be up for snagging those two Atalanta players. Atalanta has had a good season, and those guys are young and promising. Also, Laxalt has come a long way at Genoa, the guy is a straight runner, with a little fine tuning he could be a better Poli.

I know the defensive wings aren't top priority but I like Atalanta's Conti, and Bologna's Masina. Both are solid young players who probably wouldn't cost too much. these are obviously mostly cheaper options. I would take a superstar if possible but I doubt the funds will be there for this window. If we aren't gonna go for broke and seriously up jump the quality we should at least bring in a few promising players, and stay as we are.

I can see Honda, Adriano, Sosa, Vangioni, and possibly Bacca going out. If this is the case, a striker also goes on the priorities list with Mid, Cb, and Winger.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 8 2016, 03:47 PM

The Chinese will pour another 100 million in three days. If the sale was on doubt they wouldn't do that. I think it just needs time considering how huge the whole deal is.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 8 2016, 03:49 PM

As for January's mercato, I don't expect anything substantial. Probably a few of departures (Adriano, Honda, Sosa) and hopefully a decent addition in midfield.

Posted by: maldini03 Dec 8 2016, 03:51 PM

X-Off who would you want for a decent addition to midfield. I think Fabregas is off the table as he played well in the game the other day v. Man City. I doubt he ends up leaving this mercato.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 8 2016, 04:09 PM

I'd settle for a experienced mid and defender, plus one or two talents from the Bundesliga or somewhere else.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 8 2016, 04:22 PM

Fabregas played only because Matic was not available. I doubt he will prefer warming the bench and being a sub to a lucrative offer from someone else. The problem is whether we can afford that right now.

The closing's postponement surely hampers our plans for January. We could have gone for big names right away but that will have to wait till next summer. So it really depends on what the management's plans are.

I keep reading rumors about Badejl, but that name surely won't bring us anywhere. We need playmakers first and foremost.

Posted by: maldini03 Dec 8 2016, 07:06 PM

In my opinion if we can't make a big jump then I'd rather stay as we are. Badelj although a decent player won't take us to the next level. I'd rather Locatelli keep his spot.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 9 2016, 07:12 AM

I have a fairly good opinion of Badelj. He's exactly the player Montella wants. And his style is very quiet and efficient. Controls space and picks players with the easy passes. Will give us huge consistency. And he's only 25. Will be an asset in midfield and gives up more flexibility for the other two positions in our 4-3-3. We wouldn't need a pure tank all the time if Badelj is there.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 9 2016, 09:58 PM

Well, if Badelj is the answer to our DM spot, as long as we sign a quality creative CM, then I'd be fine with it. But we can't expect him alone to solve our midfield issues.

Posted by: han2503 Dec 10 2016, 05:06 PM

Well without the sale happening in January we can forget about Fabregas and any other big signings. The market will be conducted by Galliani with the Chinese having vito power, which basically leaves us at a complete standstill as they clearly don't agree with Galliani's way of doing things if this summer is any indication

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 10 2016, 08:06 PM

Yup. The Chinese will block the sale of Bacca, we are unlikely to get much money out of the rest (assuming we want to hold on to talent), and B&G see it different from our future owners. Still, let's hope we make some change, as there are limits to what Montella can do with this team.

Posted by: Danny Dec 13 2016, 03:44 PM

100M Euros confirmed in today. We apparently will be doing surgery next month.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 13 2016, 04:49 PM

Who is funding the transfers?

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Dec 13 2016, 09:12 PM

The Chinese group will now have time until March 3 to pay the €320m that are missing to complete the purchase of the club. Apart from this, they will have to cover €220m of debt and to invest €350m on the market in 3 years. #Sky

Berlusconi if he wills. If not, we fund by selling.

If Bacca, Adriano, Honda, Vangioni and Zapata leave, I believe we can get up to 50m for winter transfer window.

Posted by: milanbuf88 Dec 14 2016, 01:59 PM

We can hope that at least three of those five head out the door. My concern is that transfers take time and we may end up spending all window off loading these guys only to run out of time to complete incoming transfers. That would still be a victory overall as we seriously need to trim fat off the roster but it wouldn't help the product on the field for the second half of the season.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 14 2016, 02:45 PM

I don't think they are going to sell Bacca, and the rest will not bring in much (even assuming we find someone willing to take them).

Posted by: d'Arc.LP Dec 14 2016, 03:49 PM

Berlusconi has called Atalanta's president, Percassi, to ask him to wait for Milan before selling Caldara & Gagliardini. #GdS

Honda is in the list of players who will leave, however it's difficult to happen in January, he will likely leave in summer as a free transfer. #Repubblica

CorSport: €100m has arrived from the Chinese
The second deposit has been paid; Montella wants Badelj immediately

Napoli has reached an agreement with Genoa for Pavoletti. Pavoletti also gave his ok. #Sky

Chelsea are preparing a €23 million offer for Bonaventura according to TalkSport.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 14 2016, 09:20 PM

Who???



At this point I guess Badelj would be a good addition. I doubt we're gonna go for any big names in January, like Fabregas.



Why would Chelsea want Bonaventura when Conte didn't even call him up for the Euros? I smell bullshit.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 15 2016, 07:51 AM

We underrate Bonaventura too much, because he was a no-name when he joined us and we've won f@ck all even with him in the squad. He's my favourite Milan player, despite Honda being such a rockstar.

Badelj would be a solid addition and one we won't regret. Good move on making Atalanta hold on to Gagliardini and Caldera, though I prefer Baselli to Gagliardini.

I feel like in Serie A there is a clique. There are some clubs who will never do business with Milan regardless of price, the same with Juventus and the same with Inter.

The only club who is not in a clique is Fiorentina. They hate everybody equally.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 15 2016, 02:00 PM

They don't like us, but the one team they really hate is Juve (there are a number of things they will not forget, stolen players and such).

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 16 2016, 11:22 AM

Oh they hate Juve for sure. But I generally think they have delusions of grandeur. And play victim a bit too much. It's always the big bad clubs who are poaching their players.

Take Badelj for example. His agent came out and said, all they're asking for is a new contract at the same wage. But Fiorentina want him to take a 25% paycut!! 25% paycut for someone who is a regular starter?!

And yet, it is Badelj and Milan conspiring against Fiorentina - not their management trying to exploit a professional.

Yes, we get it once upon a time the great Rui Costa and the great Batistuta played for you. But they played elsewhere to win.

Get over Da Vinci and the Renaissance and build a football club and run it like one.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 16 2016, 06:14 PM

FWIW, I have a couple of big Fiorentina fans in the family / extended family. While I get what you are saying, the situation is a little more complicated. They have legitimate reasons to be irked at Juve and (to a much lesser extent) at Milan. They have dodgy ownership (the Della Valle make Berlu look like a classy guy), which causes problems on a regular basis with both players and coaches (Badelj is just one example, there are many others, like for example Monto, Prando, Montella). OTOH, their budget is limited, and they keep running into roadblocks when they try to "get creative". For example, plans for a new stadium are not going anywhere due to city politics, and the idea to turn Prato into a "feeder team" was derailed by petty provincial rivalries.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 16 2016, 09:00 PM

Who the f*ck are Gagliardini and Caldera?

Posted by: han2503 Dec 17 2016, 01:30 PM

Gagliardini is doing really well at Atalanta this season from what I've been reading. He's a mid. Caldara is a CB if I'm not mistaken

But tbh I've seen very little of both

I guess we'll see the up close and personal later today. But Gagliardini definitely is someone that should be watched closely

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 24 2016, 10:29 AM

Sell Bacca (after last nite I cannot justify keeping him around), plus sell anyone else warming the bench that can bring in some money. Strengthen our midfield and get a decent CB. With that, we should be able to reach EL, maybe even CL.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 26 2016, 05:56 AM

Curious that a few of you recommend selling Bacca for a new Centre Back and midfielder.

First of all, I think it's a stretch to assume we'll recuperate 30 MM for him with the way he's been playing. Second, why a centre back. I think changing a centre back pairing in the middle of the season will be a disaster. It's not like Paletta and Romagnoli are doing badly.

Midfield I understand, but the issue here is letting Bacca go, leaves us with Lapadula and Luiz Adriano. Luiz Adriano as a sole striker who hasn't played at all this season would be a disaster.

Essentially, we would have to sell Bacca and buy another striker and then look for a midfield replacement. All too complicated.

I just think this new 0 Euro budget for winter has screwed us over nice and proper.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 26 2016, 12:09 PM

With a net zero budget plus Zapata coming back plus Gomez we my want to fucus on a mid (and wait until Summer for a CB).

You are right that Becca's value is dropping, plus I keep reading that management (current and future) don't want to sell him. OTOH, it is not as if he is contributing much these days, the Juve game is a good example.

Posted by: Danny Dec 26 2016, 12:44 PM

We have no one striker we can now rely on. But isn't it odd how both Adriano and Bacca fell out of favour with both management and fans after a failed move to China?

Bacca didn't become a bad player overnight, but on top of Montella's system just not suiting him, he clearly doesn't want to be at a club whose fans don't love him any more. For right or wrong. And that shows in his displays.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 26 2016, 09:40 PM

This anti-Bacca campaign has been hilarious IMO. The guy came out of weeks without playing and had a fair game. Missed a few chances, but it's only due to a lack of match fitness.

Relying solely on Lapadula is madness. A completely unknown striker became overnight "better" then Bacca.

All this Bacca talk is based on shaky foundations and assumptions like the one that he's worth 30 million and we can reinvest this money into a class midfielder...

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 27 2016, 05:28 AM

Look, at the moment Lapadula is better for our game than Bacca. In the last season, we just had no options if not for Bacca.

But now we can't afford to let Bacca go because we have no strikers. We're one injury to Lapadula away from disaster. Or starting the youngsters.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 27 2016, 10:23 AM

Why is he better for our game? Are you sure he is? I think Bacca is for one much more efficient. Perhaps Montella's system would work more smoothly with Lapadula because he works more and tracks back, but in the end it would mean less efficiency and less goals IMO.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 27 2016, 12:24 PM

Not really. Montella's system clearly doesn't work by giving opportunities to strikers in the box. It often depends on strikers winning or enabling opportunities to score.

So if we see Lapadula in a position where he can finish and misses, we can say Bacca would do better - but chances are he wouldn't ever have worked himself into that opportunity in the first place.

It would be less goals and less efficiency even with Bacca, because - He will get no chances and doesn't create for himself. Two, he doesn't give the benefit of workrate either putting extra load on Suso and Jack/Niang.

Posted by: Danny Dec 27 2016, 02:45 PM

Anyone got Lapagols and Bacca's DNA so we can fuse them and make the perfect Montella striker?

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 27 2016, 04:34 PM

Meh! You'd just end up with Shevchenko.

Though the ideal Montella striker from what I've seen is Luis Suarez.

Posted by: X-Offender Dec 27 2016, 08:58 PM

He said at the moment, and it's true. Bacca has been crap for a while now, whereas Lapadula has been playing well, scoring goals, winning penalties and overall working better for the team. It's useless to deny it.

Posted by: Danny Dec 27 2016, 10:01 PM

If we look at their careers it's no contest. Bacca is on a different planet to Lapa. But in the here and now, circumstance dictated or not, Lapa is probably the better option purely on the basis he feels wanted and puts in the effort. He lacks in quality by comparison, but Bacca's current poor form and morale is a hell of a leveler.

Truth is neither is really close to being the ideal choice. We need someone new next month.

A cheap version, albeit Jack said it tongue in cheek, of Luis Suarez.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 28 2016, 12:40 AM

Well, let's see what happens. I'm just voicing my concerns here. I think Lapadula is not first team material, at least not if we wanna try get the 3rd spot.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 28 2016, 12:44 AM

Oh yes, I get you.

But let me ask you one thing - you think we can make it through with Montella's tactic and just Niang, Lapadula and Adriano at hand? You think Serie A is suited for that kind of tactics, especially considering the weaker defending teams?

And like Danny said, Bacca is worlds apart from Lapadula. I think Bacca is the closest player we have to a star. He has his deficiencies, but man - are you really ready to cross-off or sell perhaps one of the 3 best players in your roster just because your tactical vision/approach is better suited for a average or potentially solid striker?

Posted by: Danny Dec 28 2016, 02:14 AM

I would agree with this. I think he's a good bench option. And he's done better than I expected him to. But he is not the type I would look to for a higher level for the team.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Dec 28 2016, 06:53 AM

I think I've given up on the third spot the moment I heard the budget for winter. I think Montella has as well, and will use the rest of the season to rotate around and really improve the players while ensuring we remain in EL spots. His language has changed from Milan can beat everyone to we're x points away from 5th position, so this is a good place.



I'm talking of this season. I think the management realise this too. Montella is no fool, and knows that Bacca is a superb striker but that he doesn't have the kind of supply from forwards and midfield. I think Bacca is biggest with another striker and provider exclusively playing up and supporting him. But that places a lot of stress on our pretty sub-par midfield and average defence. It's not a coincidence that our defensive record has gotten better and Bacca's scoring rate has dropped, both at the same time. Effectively to make Bacca score more we have to risk conceding more.

Right now in defense, we operate a bit like an amateur Atletico. We press hard, and sort of form a wall around the 18 yard box, forcing opposition wide and trying to score from those sort of starting positions. When we're on our game, barring individual mistakes,if you'd notice all the goals we concede these days are those types of goals, which are harder not-to-concede.

So anyway, to your question -

I think the management WILL NOT sell him. I think they know they need someone of his class to make it in Europe. I hope they're having conversations with him and keeping his morale high. But for now, we are desperately looking to win points and Lapadula is doing that for us more than Bacca. We also cannot rule out Montella arriving at a technical solution that would enable both Bacca and Lapadula to flourish. Maybe a 4-4-1-1 or even a diamond of sorts. Right now we are a 4-3-3 becoming a 3-4-3.

But next season, I believe a lot of transfer focus will be on the sort of additions that would really make a striker like Bacca lethal.

I would love Milan Badelj. Badelj is a top controller, would free up Locatelli, Montolivo, Bertolacci, Bonaventura etc. a lot more, and free the pressure from the front 3 who currently are responsible for our entire offense. We're no Barca, and Niang, Bacca, Suso is no MSN.

I recently (thanks to twitter hype) started watching this kid called Vincent Koziello. He's from Nice, with whom I think we have a decent relationship. He also looks really good to me.

I understand that we're also probably landing Orsolini. Decent player, but needs a couple of years at Genoa (if you know what I mean )

All in all, I'm very optimistic about this team. But for this season, we have to be quietly cautious yet hopeful.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 28 2016, 11:20 AM

Yes, I think you managed to find the balance here and explain all the tactical aspects nicely.

What I still hope for us to do is grab that 3rd spot. Because playing Europa League (other then money) doesn't bring much. Look at Inter...

Posted by: milanbuf88 Dec 28 2016, 01:30 PM

Calling Bacca's performance against Juve fair is incredibly generous. He was sub par. His skill set is such that he offers very little other than finishing ability so when his finishing is poor it greatly effects his rating. He had multiple good opportunities and flubbed them all. I expect far more from some one who is purported to a star and a lethal finisher.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 28 2016, 04:15 PM

Perhaps. Ah well, let's sell him...

Anyway. What's our status right now with the takeover and all? Why is our winter budget cut?

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Dec 28 2016, 05:09 PM

Well lets see, we have no CL money, no Serie A money, but we do have 200M deposit from the Chinese. Not sure of the usage of the 200M, as Galliani puts it we have to sell before we buy.

Id be surprised if we end up with a good signing, think it will just be a shuffle if anything.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 29 2016, 08:51 AM

The 200M are not for Milan (they are for Finvest). As I understand it, the agreement between the buyers and current management is that the transfer market will be "net zero". Neither party wants to sell Bacca, so it will be others (like Luiz Adriano) that would fund any purchase.

Realistically speaking, I would not expect us to make CL this year. EL is a reasonable expectation, CL a bit of a stretch.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Dec 29 2016, 09:38 AM

And when will the takeover finally happen? Any news on that one?

I understand your cautiousness guys, but bear in mind that Milan have to fight for a 3rd spot against Napoli and Lazio, who ain't bad but also are not unbeatable. I think it's more then doable. In January we play Napoli which will be a big thing. We'll see.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 29 2016, 01:53 PM

February? March? Who knows ...


Yeah, CL is still possible, but IMHO it is a stretch. I agree that Napoli and Lazio are not that great, but neither are we (a few injuries and an off day for some key players, and we can easily drop more points). Also, it looks like Inter may have gotten their act together, and they are not that far behind us.

Posted by: Danny Dec 29 2016, 04:38 PM

Indeed, absolute farce of a takeover again. Not quite on pure fraud levels like Bee but not a LOT better!

Posted by: Forza Milan! Dec 31 2016, 04:54 PM

Any thoughts on http://www.calciomercato.com/news/stampa-argentina-milan-su-gago-75353? I have to assume this is a temporary solution until we get real money.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Dec 31 2016, 06:01 PM

Not too keen, but wont hurt for rotation

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jan 4 2017, 06:45 AM

He used to be spoken of very highly. But very very injury prone. When we already have Mati Fernandez, why him? I would have liked Ganso, but I guess Gago comes with experience playing in Europe.

Rumours of the summer mercato - including Bernardeschi and/or Berardi. Two names I like. Still don't see that mid-fielder name being pulled though. Or the centre back. Is Paletta really that good? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 4 2017, 09:20 AM

Looks like it's going to be a very lean month coming our way

We're going in with ridiculous loan + option to buy for players... Our management thinks that everyone is as gullible as us and would be willing to get rid of players for nothing just as long as they offload his wages

We're giving Luiz Adriano away for nothing, but we're happy because we don't have to pay the ridiculous wage packet he was given by Galliani to begin with

We're simply unable to sell any of our players for actual money, even while the club is going through a good period performance wise

This winter mercato could have been a great opportunity for us to cement that CL spot had we made the right moves. I know Badelj doesn't excite anyone but trying to get him on a short contract would have been ideal for us. He'd be the guy to shore up our midfield until we cross the finish line this season. Don't get me wrong, I think Locatelli has a bright future, but the kid is clearly not a regista and that's what we need, not to mention that Kucka tends to have one good game and four terrible ones.

Also, we're going to have problems with the attack if we don't try to bring anyone in for that left side. Bona has been doing very well there but I think he was even better in the midfield 3, and we've missed him in that position in the last few games. Bertolacci I think can be someone we can look to, his performances have been pretty solid for someone returning from such a long term injury, definitely better than anything I saw from him last season so he at least gives me some hope.

I just don't think that what we have is enough to get us into the CL, we're been over-performing massively since the start of the season, to expect it to continue is completely naiive.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 5 2017, 08:34 PM

Reality is nothing much will happen in this transfer market. As I understand it, Galliani is bickering with the Chinese leadership, and he seems unlikely to raise any money by selling players.

There appears to be a 30M offer for Bacca coming from China, and there are rumors of a possible DS for Zaza exchange with Juve, which would give us a replacement for Bacca (I hope this does not happen).

Also, talk continues on http://www.goal.com/it/news/7/calciomercato/2017/01/05/31185892/milan-c%C3%A8-laccordo-con-deulofeu-ma-dalleverton-ancora-nessuna?ICID=HP_BN_1, but I don't see what we can offer to Everton. Also, we are talking winger / forward, not sure this is what we really need right now.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 5 2017, 08:41 PM

Zaza is sh*t.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 5 2017, 08:45 PM

Indeed. As a reminder, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osgUT3UQwnM.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 6 2017, 11:38 AM

Failed at West Ham. Failed at the Euros. Ideal Milan panic buy.

Posted by: X-Offender Jan 6 2017, 07:13 PM

Ideal Galliani panic buy.

Posted by: Danny Jan 17 2017, 02:35 PM

Apparently Niang to Arsenal remains surprisingly on.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 18 2017, 12:49 AM

Would be great. Niang is mentally not in it any more. Even at his best his effort and usefulness are questionable.

I don't get why we don't do any transfer efforts. Adriano, Niang and a few other could at least be trimmed off and we could try and get one or two decent players instead. I'm not saying we're gonna sign Ronaldo, but...?

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 18 2017, 04:09 AM

Selling is (much) harder than buying, especially if you want to get some cash out of the deal.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jan 18 2017, 05:22 AM

^^ Yup exactly. Clubs know we're selling because he's bad. At this moment in time we wouldn't get a jot above 12 million for him. Dead loss, while his performance in the first half of the season would have warranted at least 18.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 18 2017, 09:58 AM

Sell for 12 I say. At this rate, we'll get even less in the summer.

Posted by: Danny Jan 18 2017, 04:34 PM

The quoted sum is 20M. Arsene apparently 'really wants' him.

Posted by: maldini03 Jan 20 2017, 01:21 AM

I read today that we have sent an offer for Deulofeu for 500K for the loan with an option to buy at 18 Million. I have only seen the guy play a few times, but anyone young and promising is a good player to have come off the bench. Plus 18M isn't much in today's market. He would bring another option on the wing which is necessary at this point. It seems that we won't be doing any real business this window (admittedly no team has done much business), so this is better than nothing as far as I'm concerned.

What do you guys think?

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jan 20 2017, 05:44 AM

I think it's a good buy. I think we're really thin on the wings. Delofeu if I'm not wrong, comes from the Barca school, so in a lot of ways, he's almost exactly similar to Suso. We're too dependent on Jack and Suso at the moment on the wings, thanks to Niang's wretched form and desperately need cover there.

My worry is that he comes from a different league, so I'm concerned about his ability to adjust quickly.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 21 2017, 04:48 PM

Looks like http://www.goal.com/it/news/2/serie-a/2017/01/21/31780402/calciomercato-milan-nessun-giallo-deulofeu-arriva-luned%C3%AC-per?ICID=HP_HN_5 is a done deal. Straight loan, we pay 750k, and Barca still has the right to buy him back.

Posted by: Danny Jan 21 2017, 09:40 PM

A player who isn't good enough for Everton isn't good enough for us.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 21 2017, 10:52 PM

He's miles better than Niang, and that's good enough for me (for now)

It's a loan with an option, win win for us

Either way if/when the money flows in from the new owners we'll be looking at more permanent solutions for that left side (Keita, Bernardeschi, Insigne and Berardi all being mentioned (don't know how realistic some of those are though)

Posted by: Danny Jan 22 2017, 12:42 AM

Is this just a default comment because he's a Dutch U23 international with a foreign name? You've never watched him play. Or never paid attention to him when he played. He's 'by default' better than Niang but then, so am I.

Posted by: Danny Jan 24 2017, 12:40 PM

We signed him, if anyone cares.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 24 2017, 05:39 PM

Under the circumstances, I think this is a good move. From what I have been reading he is a rather versatile player, which means his arrival will give us more options op front and in midfield. And it is just a loan, which means we are not going to get stuck with him if he turns out to be a disappointment. This summer we will (hopefully) have money for more serious investments, and (unless he turns out to be much better than we all seem to think) Delofeu will be gone.

Now if we could only sell Niang and bring in some cash ...

Posted by: han2503 Jan 25 2017, 08:35 AM

I think you just answered your own question right there...

I don't claim to know what Deulofeu can do as a player, I don't claim to have watched him play before either. I actually didn't even know who he was when we were first linked with him. My only thinking atm is that anyone is better than the bumbling, stumbling, clumsy Niang. Who aside from being a mediocre players who mainly relies on physicality and nothing else; he has a terrible attitude to boot. So yes, I think in this case I think anyone is an upgrade over Niang, who in a season where our coach has had tremendous success with the young players in the group, he's the one who still can't manage to take advantage of the situation presented to him.

Like I said, I can't claim to know much about this Gerard kid (Deulofeu is too hard to write from memory so I'll just call him that), but I'm happy that we managed to sign him. i don't know if he can be a proper solution for us but he'll give us options. He can play on the left or right of the wings from what I heard which will be useful for us if (god forbid) Suso is injured

Also, an update on the Niang situation. Some EPL clubs are interested (mainly WHU, Crystal Palace and Everton), they should definately be the priority as they have the cash to spend. If we can get something out of Niang it would be a miracle

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 11:03 AM

Why is it so important to get something out of Niang?

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 02:51 PM

Niang is reported to have said goodbye to the Rossoneri today with weird sudden rumours Liverpool have signed him.

That came from nowhere.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 02:56 PM

What concerns me is not only is he not good enough for Everton, but he's not good enough for a struggling Everton. What further concerns me is he's not only not good enough for Everton, and a struggling Everton, but one which has a Dutch manager who would be more likely to favour a Dutch player.

Beyond injury and ability I am also concerned about attitude. We seem to be in a really crummy market, taking Roma rejects, Everton rejects, players who simply aren't in favour at their current clubs. We got lucky with Romagnoli but of all our signings in recent years, other than Bacca and perhaps Bonaventura, who have we signed who was a serious first team player at their existing club and who wasn't a Genoa quality team?

Can't think of anyone. It's a diabolical market.

Deulofeu is also a right winger by trade, which is where we play Suso. If he's to be switched to the left, sure, I'm willing to give that a chance. But really, this current market is painful to witness. It's so un-Milan it's not even sad any more.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 03:02 PM

Your post is frank, honest, and appreciated, but it sums us up that we're so desperate for anyone to come in we accept unknowns and assume because they're new and shiny they must be better than what we have. Never mind the fact that Olivares was ghastly from day one, never mind what a shambles Acerbi, Armero, Mesbah, Onyewu were - they were new and shiny and presumably had to be good. Alas they were not.

I understand where you're coming from, but for me this is a desperate signing again. I'll give him a chance to prove me wrong, but if he couldn't do it at Goodison I'm unconvinced he will do it for us. Look where Taarabt ended up.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 03:07 PM

It's always a gamble. But we're in a situation where we must take these shots in the dark and try. Maybe some of them end up like Suso.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 25 2017, 07:48 PM

Please keep in mind that we are operating with zero budget on this transfer market. That will (hopefully) change this summer, so I would not look at our recent past as an indication of what will happen once we get new owners. However, until that happens, it is what it is.

As of right now, we needed someone that can play on the wing, and Deulofeu gives us that. From what I have been reading he is reasonably good (has played on Spain's NT up to U21) and is rather versatile (can play right, left, and even center as a "false 9"). I am not sure if I would dismiss him as an "Everton reject", at least not yet.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 07:51 PM

Random but Niang to Watford is a done deal.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 07:51 PM

Suso and Romagnoli are rare gems. We can't do that every time. I've never seen our bench worse than it currently is.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 07:54 PM

He is an Everton reject - he lost his place about a year ago and has played barely 15 times since. Koeman doesn't want him. Whether the term reject is derogatory doesn't really matter - he's surplus to them and that makes him what Adriano (fairly or not) was to us - a reject.

Hopefully he hits the ground running for us and proves me way wrong.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 07:55 PM

Lucas Ocampos to come in on loan to replace Niang.

Oh btw he's yet another Genoa product.

Zero budget true, and look at what we're ending up with. Absolute rubbish.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 25 2017, 08:00 PM

Hopefully that will all change once we get new owners. Hopefully. (Because I agree with you that our current modus operandi is not going to lead us anywhere.)

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 08:08 PM

Yeah, but a alternative is nonexistent. At least until the takeover happens.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 09:44 PM

We're going backwards. We're not even sitting still. Montella made us punch above our weight but now the energy has gone and there's only hot air left. And that sees us sinking.

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 09:45 PM

Indeed. Hence my writing this season off. It's not taking place till next month at the earliest, leaving us nothing but free transfers and loans till the end of the season. And all we'll do is go downhill till then.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 09:48 PM

Well, why not give it a chance? I know chances aren't in our favor, but why not try? There's not much we can lose anyway?

Posted by: Danny Jan 25 2017, 10:41 PM

Because I prefer to expect the worst and any good that comes is a glorious bonus rather than expecting the good and being broken hearted when it doesn't happen.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 10:44 PM

Yeah, that's the tagline of this whole forum.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 25 2017, 10:57 PM

Because we're desperate for a CM and we have no cash

Plus getting actual cash for a player we own might seem like a novelty to some but it's how we should be doing business instead of being happy just to send players away for nothing like we have been doing thanks to Galliani

Niang at Juve would fetch 20m easily (hello Zaza, Giaccherini, Matri, etc) Niang with us is worth basically nothing, and we're just happy to send him to any club that would take him, hey as long as we don't have to pay his wages it's all good right?

Posted by: han2503 Jan 25 2017, 11:01 PM

M’Baye Niang has reportedly given the all-clear and will complete his move to Watford, on loan from Milan with option to buy for €18.5m.

Where's that facepalm pic when you need it?

And we still can't make a f@ckin dime off our players! just ridiculous Galliani. When are you going to finally gtfo?

And it's an option as well/ Watch Watford send him back with his tail between his legs at the end of the season. And now the chance of selling him to an EPL club will be greatly reduced since they'll actually see how shite he is.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Jan 25 2017, 11:01 PM

I don't know. To me it's simple. Either the takeover happens and we can start planning a much brighter future or it's darkness. You were always concerned with details and I admire that. I've lost interest in these small things. I think it's pretty much irrelevant whether we sell him for 5 or 10 or 15 million. It's not that we can buy a good CM for that kind of money during the winter in a span of 4 days.

Posted by: han2503 Jan 25 2017, 11:08 PM

It's still something....

And if the takeover falls through or it's not as rosy as it's being painted out to be, we need any cash we can get.

No we won't build a team of stars, but 15m could get us Badelj, who would be an instant improvement over the players we currently have. When you have nothing, every little drop counts. And when we're just happy to give away our players for free as long as we don't have to pay them anymore just makes me furious because it just shows what an obviously stupid move it was in the first place. Like the Luiz Adriano deal. An unnecessary purchase, a big wage all for nothing and when we didn't need him but were desperate for mids, as has been the case for a while now.

So that's 10m down the drain plus all the wages we paid him. All this when we can't scrape together the change to get the players we actually do need

The gross mismanagement this clubs has been under is what truly irritates me and these types of deals just epitomiz how truly out of touch Galliani has become with football

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 26 2017, 12:35 AM

+1

Posted by: Forza Milan! Jan 26 2017, 12:38 AM

I agree with much of what you are saying but, in fairness, it is not that easy. Selling something (anything) when people know you need to sell is always very, very hard. Not overly impressed with Galliani's contribution to the club over the last years, but I can see how things have been rather challenging for him.

Posted by: Danny Jan 28 2017, 08:44 AM

Ocampos close to being done. God what a f*cking depressing window this was.

We needed quality in midfield and up front and ended up loaning out Niang, chucking away Adriano and signing two loan wingers.

The only area I'm content enough with is defence - Donna, Abate, Paletta, Romagnoli and Antonelli is as good a defence as Serie A has. The problem is the painful lack of quality in midfield and our system's struggles to feed our striker. Midfield filled with loans and journeymen - there isn't a single midfielder we have even close to the quality we need for UEL never mind higher ambitions. Mati, Locatelli, Sosa, Pasilic, Kucka - the only player we have I rely on is Jack and he's been getting used as a winger recently to cover for Niang.

Following this window our strongest team is probably:

Donna, Abate, Paletta, Romagnoli, Antonelli, Kucka, Jack, Sosa/Pasalic/Loca, Suso, Bacca and Deulofeu

We're going to struggle to be a top 6 team this season.

Posted by: Danny Feb 28 2017, 04:02 PM

So with this alleged *COUGH* takeover coming in, we're linked again with Fabregas, and have competition from Chelsea for Villarreal's Musacchio .

We're also been linked with a move for Aguero.

Suddenly the big names are now being linked rather than Lapadula. If the money happens we could see a REAL change this summer.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 2 2017, 09:41 AM

...AND it's gone!

Posted by: Danny Mar 2 2017, 10:20 PM

Lasted long didn't it!

Posted by: han2503 Mar 4 2017, 08:50 AM

We'll see what happens next summer. If the transfer market is once again left in the hands of Galliani expect a defender and a striker with the midfield being left to rot once again. Expect a couple of shady deals with Genoa as well

If the takeover actually does happen, I'm interested to see what Mirabelli brings to the table, we've been linked to very interesting names. Whether we'll have the funds or if Mirabelli wil get the chance to actually work with us is another thing altogether though

Posted by: Danny Mar 18 2017, 01:50 PM

Spurs, Juve, and significantly, Atletico Madrid now linked with Suso. Heavily. Big enough offer I doubt we'll keep him especially if this fabled Chinese takeover doesn't materialise.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 19 2017, 09:07 AM

Why not? We're sitting on 200MM cash. That kills debt completely of course. Or can be good enough to hand out some good contracts.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 19 2017, 03:39 PM

We have no assurance that that money is actually real, and if it is, I'm pretty sure Fininvest won't put it back into Milan

And even so, it's still a very short term outlook. 200m in today's football is nothing. We're barely spending anything on transfers these days and yet we're still clocking up 60m euros of debt each year. (which just shows you how terribly run we are as a business and as a club)

The problem is that Silvio no longer wants to invest, we're no longer competitive so we can't even demand high sponsorship deals anymore since we haven't been playing any continental football for a couple of years, not to mention our current sponsors don't even want to renew their deals because they think their money would be better spent elsewhere

So if this deal is a farce (as it is looking more and more likely with each passing day) then we should be worried about the future of this club and where it's going, because carrying on as we currently are would mean having to resign ourselves to being supporters of a mid-table team that was once great but no longer is

Posted by: Forza Milan! Mar 19 2017, 04:41 PM

Yup, the deal is seriously at risk. And if it did happen, the new owners look like a bunch of clowns, so I am not sure it will end well.

As for the 200M, I believe they are real alright. However, they are going to Fininvest and not the club,, so we are back to where we were before (limited money, no clear direction, etc). Even worse, if we pull out of the deal, most likely there will be a big legal battle. which will not help.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 19 2017, 06:03 PM

Yeah, after all these delays, even if the deal does go through, what guarantees us that the new owner will start spending big bucks on the mercato when they're having so much trouble finding the money to purchase the club in the first place.

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 19 2017, 08:15 PM

I agree with you, the Chinese don't seem serious at all. They missed Friday deadline for another 100M.

It's all up in the air now; but one thing is for sure Silvio has set a price on Milan and if it is met by XYZ Milan will be sold. Silvio is playing it cool and that he can take Milan back on his own (I beg to question what changed in the climate of football and in Silvios finance? Nothing). The 200M is Fininvests all right and with the club on sale, I believe it's not intended to be reinvested in Milan.

Then the irony of a potential future Captain Donna, whom his agent stated has a year and a half left on his contract, agreeing not to talk about the players renewal with the current management and on top of that calling the Chinese investors not serious. Does this mean we loose this player on the cheap or on a Bosman?

A sale of this club has to be concluded, whether the Chinese pull through and end up dry on the transfer market, or to different investors.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 19 2017, 08:28 PM

The player situation is what is most worrying and pressing atm

Donnarumma, De Sciglio, Suso, Locatelli, Calabria, Deulofeu and Romagnoli; with the first two's contract situations being the most alarming as we could lose both for free or next to nothing if they decide they want to leave this mess of a club, if the ownership situation is not resolved than the futures of all those mentioned won't be at Milan. I included Deulofeu because we should be trying to make an offer for him, he's clicked with the team so quickly and he's obviously a special player, I'd really like to see us keeping him, but with the situation as is, that's not going to happen either

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 20 2017, 05:43 PM

Lets not make the mistake in indirectly stating this situation is intentional. Sure Silvio wants to exit, and this party intending to come in can not clear funds out of china to close the deal; hence this situation of players contracts left to expire due to uncertainty of the future.

We can not beat our heads to the wall due to external factors to this deal. After all, i think we have been through much heartache already so this whole issue does not really hurt. Tis just Donna whom I feel could have been the new Maldini for Milan. The kid who benches Lopez at 17. Oh well, Istanbul, Sheva's departure, and the retirement of the old guard stung more.

Posted by: Danny Mar 21 2017, 03:18 PM

Summer transfers probably needed now Han. Open that one?

PS we're now linked with 40M Euros for Berardi.

Posted by: Jack Sparrow Mar 22 2017, 04:29 PM

Football Italia is running a story that Man City is considering a 120MM - 150MM bid for Donnarumma. That figure gives me pause I have to be honest. How good is Plizzari?

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 22 2017, 07:06 PM

For 50M I would be happy for him to go. At 100M+ what is he still doing here? And suddenly the Maldini esque career comparison poofs into thin air

Posted by: Danny Mar 22 2017, 10:35 PM

I'm with you. I'd go further. I actually consider him overrated now. I haven't really been impressed with him since about November last year. Last truly awesome save I saw from him was the Juve one which won us the match.

I don't think he's developed at all for about half a year. If we get a megabucks offer I'd be more than happy to accept.

Posted by: maldini03 Mar 23 2017, 02:43 PM

That's ridiculous Danny. The kid has more clean sheets than any keeper in the top 5 leagues in Europe this year, look at our defense and tell me that the kid isn't a star. If you need more proof go back and rewatch the Lazio game or the Fiorentina game.

Yeah, he makes a mistake here and there, and at 18 I am completely fine with that. We need to keep him at all costs. I wouldn't sell him for anything. It's players like him that have made Milan what it is. Players who would bleed for these colors are rare, and there should be ~no price ~ that would make us sell. 100M gets you almost nowhere today. I would rather the rest of the team continue to be filled with cheap throw away players and have one or two real Milan players around than sell the young stars we have to replace them with expensive declining players from other teams.

The stars won't come here as long as we aren't in the CL. Without a continuous flow of money, 100M gets us almost nowhere.

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 23 2017, 07:27 PM

Indeed. At his age, he's great.

Posted by: X-Offender Mar 23 2017, 09:46 PM

True.

Posted by: Danny Mar 23 2017, 10:13 PM

I don't understand this statement, it's patently false. He has 10 clean sheets, and is 18th in Europe. Top is Yohan Pele of Marseille with 14.

I may have wildly misunderstood what you mean.

But it doesn't change my mind. I don't think he's developed in 6 months and that's all I have to say. Please don't be angry at my opinion.

Posted by: Danny Mar 23 2017, 10:16 PM

I said back in 2011 that we needed about 100M minimum to rebuild the team after we won the Scudetto. That didn't happen. Now it's about 500M we need. To get the level we expect. But none of this is really related to my opinion of our keeper. He's great, he is, but he's not become as exceptional as I expected him to. And I'd sell him if a crazy offer came in. What is done with that money is a completely different issue.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Mar 24 2017, 02:40 AM

I think I understand everyone's perspective, and I see the value in a keeping true Milan players. I also believe that Donnarumma is exceptional (yes, he makes occasional mistakes, but he is still 18 - anyone remember Dida?). However, he is represented by Raiola, and I simply do not trust Raiola, so I fear we will eventually lose Donnarumma anyway.

With this in mind, under normal circumstances I would take the 120-150M (or anything north of 100M). However, I have no confidence in our current management, and even less so in our future management. Not knowing what we would do with the money, I would rather we hold on to the player.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 24 2017, 05:19 PM

Will do

But honestly guys, selling Donna?? Atm he should be untouchable, 150m won't really take us anywhere anyway, it won't be a case of like Juve with Zidane where they built an entire team off of his transfer, not to mention we've been down this road many times now and we know that not even a fraction of that sum would be re-invested into the team.

We need to make sure that we keep our young stars. As soon as this ownership fiasco is over, one way or another, we need to make sure to tie guys like DS and Donna down to long term contracts.

The make a quick buck solution has never and will never work for us, so why sacrifice one of the brightest young stars of modern football?

Posted by: Fillipo Simone Mar 26 2017, 02:31 PM

Indeed. Completely agreed.

When did we ever sell someone for big bucks and reinvested the money smartly?

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 26 2017, 08:27 PM

100M is Messi type of money. Its ridiculous we are even considering an 18 year old with that valuation. What will he be worth after winning a scudetto or CL?

50M is also a big number for the kid.

He is not going anywhere until Berlusconi receives his payment in full from China. If after the closing Raiola decides Donna is going to Madrid for 20M and a year left on contract, then guess where he is going? I sincerely doubt that scenario and instead would entertain a renewal for key players as one of the pressing priorities and the second being taking Milan back to Champions League glory.

But to put things into perspective here, Donna is on a year and a half left worth of contract with Milan and all negotiations for a renewal with the club are put on hold. Yes there is plenty of time if April 14 comes and the Chinese start showing their true weight around, but until that happens ... .

Posted by: han2503 Mar 27 2017, 10:18 AM

Sure it's ridiculous money, but in today's football Donna is worth more than 150m. Why? Because he's a once in a generation type talent.

This old-age mentality of thinking the maximum amount a player should go for is 50m and he has to be Zidane level of good to qualify for that kind of sum has got to stop. It's the way Galliani still thinks things are run but that is no longer the case, when you have PSG paying 50m for David Luiz or Madrid spending nearly a 100m on Gareth freaking Bale then you know things have gone so off kilter that a player that is a true talent, and such a rare one like Donna, the fee would have to be exceptional.

As for their contracts, I think both DS and Donna are waiting to see what happens with the ownership. If Silvio stays they'll speak with Galliani and if the Chinese come in they'll speak with Fassone. Atm we're in limbo so it's understandable that the players are taking a step back and not fully committing when they don't know what they're committing to

Posted by: Rossoneri7 Mar 27 2017, 09:17 PM

han, please don't take this the wrong way; but I didn't get the '100M being the new prices and 50M being old age'?

100M for a club like Milan, where income is scarce, is a complete blood transfusion for the club and the team. In Spain RM and Barca rule (TV rights, global fanbase/merchandise); plus you are talking of turnover of over a billion combined (our turnover between 150M and 170M). In PSG you have the government of a wealthy country promoting itself for an upcoming WC. These are clubs who pay the astronomical sums, not a team like ours.

On Donna being once in a generation, I do hope he signs as it seems he is fond of Milan plus he has not yet developed (for his age he is very remarkable and impressive, but in experience) into a mature player Ala Buffon or Dida.

If he does leave though, and this is where you set a disclaimer for yourself, why assume based on him being once in a generation kinda player when it is a fact that his contract is expiring in 1.5 years. If by this summer Raiola and Donna agree RM is the better club, then he could refuse our extension and force our hands for 20-30M max.

Posted by: Danny Mar 28 2017, 09:42 AM

It's curious, you seem to want to give a rational reason for a multitude of clubs paying colossal cash for players as opposed to accepting prices have gone up.

Han is dead on - 100M is the old 50M.

It's not just Barca, Real and PSG, it's City, Juve, Monaco, Chelsea, Zenit, Utd. Or had we all forgotten about Paul Pogba and Gonzalo Higuain?

Posted by: han2503 Mar 28 2017, 01:12 PM

Like Danny said, it's not just 2 or 3 clubs driving up the prices, it's a multitude of them and now we're seeing ridiculous offers coming in from China as well

And the new 100m isn't even just the old 50m. 50m 10 to 15 years ago was only paid for the absolute best, Zidane is one of the few examples because he's the only top class star back then who was sold in his prime for such a huge fee. Al the other great player were sold for relatively reasonable prices (meagre compared to today's) players like Nesta, Baggio, Rui Costa, Figo, etc all went for around the 20 to 30m mark and all were considered gasp worthy moments in football. Now things have just gone crazy.

In what world is Pogba worth 110m? Higuain 90m? An overweight and close to 30 Higuain might I add. Gareth Bale 100m. Just ridiculous numbers. The only players worth that much for me are only Messi and Ronaldo, but with how prices are so over-inflated we're seeing player who back in the day were worth 20m max go for over 60m nowadays

So no, we shouldn't be letting Donna go for anything other than something huge, and by today's standards 150m for a player like Donna is not enough. That's why it's of the utmost importance to resolve this ownership issue so we can finally renew contracts and lock players down, most importantly Donna

Also, I don't think he'll force his way out, Raiola might be a POS but he generally acts in the best interest of his client, so if Donna wants to stay he'll make sure to get the best deal for him from Milan, if Donna wants to leave Raiola will make sure to take him to the club that's offering him the best conditions.

Posted by: Danny Mar 28 2017, 02:37 PM

There's a reason Messi's escape clause was set years ago at 250M. They not only wanted to protect their prize asset, but like Real and their similar clause for Ronaldo, knew the player could actually fetch that in the future.

Frankly players who couldn't lace Zidane's boots (and as my mates would tell you, I don't even rate him as highly as the rest of the world does) are now fetching double what he did.

It doesn't have anything to do with a few freak incidents, the reality is inflation has gone absurd.

And while I don't rate Donna as highly as you guys clearly do (I still say he hasn't developed in the past 6 months as much as I expected) by the rates of players' prices these days, players inferior to him, as Han said we're talking 200M range here.

But that said, there's one difference between us, Napoli (Higuian) and Juve (Pogba) - we're financially struggling. In both of those cases they far from needed the money. We...need it a little more.

Posted by: han2503 Mar 29 2017, 12:00 PM

If push came to shove, both Juve and Napoli have proven to be selling clubs

Italian teams no longer have the financial clout or name backing to be able to keep their biggest players

Juve have more financial strength than Napoli, Napoli have to sell players in order to keep their books healthy. Even so, I get what you're saying, most clubs can small the stench of desperation rolling off of Galliani when they come knocking on our doors for players, that's why we generally tend to get the short end of the stick

And it's why it is imperative that Fassone (who will most likely be the ones dealing with the financial aspect of transfers) stands firm when we're in negotiations to sell players. Look at Juve, they get good money for their duds, while Galliani can barely get them off his hands for free and then pats his back for not having to pay the ridiculous wages he initially offered these players

Posted by: Danny Mar 29 2017, 10:28 PM

Less selling clubs, more 'who the f*ck would turn down 70M+ for this player'. Especially in Higuain's case. Going by your stance, Man Utd are a selling club because they didn't reject 90M for Ronaldo, or we once were because we didn't turn down 60M for Kaka. Fact is every player, every club, no matter how important, has a price, even Barca and Real players - remember Barca sold Sanchez and Ibra and Real sold Ozil and Di Maria.



No one can keep their biggest players if an offer from stupid street comes in. Not Utd, not Real, not Barca, not PSG.



If Napoli had to sell players constantly they wouldn't still have guys like Mertens and Insigne. They sell if they get a stupid offer. But you're quite right - we are far more desperate, and that's not just financial. We stink of bending over backwards to sell below market rate. When was the last time Milan sold a big player for good money? Was it really Silva and Ibra for 50M in 2012? That's five years ago!

Posted by: Forza Milan! Mar 30 2017, 03:27 AM

Unfortunately, R7 is right. If Raiola talks Donna into leaving, we *will* lose him. And if we do not get a contract renewal before he decides to leave, we may not see even close to 100M. And frankly, I do not trust Raiola (he will look after his interest first, the player's second, the club not being a consideration).

Bottom line, keeping Donna is not entirely up to our club's management, and if we are not careful we are not going to see the kind of money that (apparently) is being offered right now.

Not sure what this all means, as our management (old and maybe-new) is a mess, and I would not count on having lots of money (transfer budget or player salary), sale or no sale. If anything, I am seriously concerned that if the sale closes, the new owners will have no money and a high interest loan to deal with.

Posted by: Forza Milan! Mar 30 2017, 03:43 AM

Yup. Napoli did the right thing (not sure about the other examples). The point is that most clubs sell players when they believe it makes sense. Even the big clubs, the ones with lotsa money.


... or if the player decides to leave.


The problem is, if everyone knows you have to sell, it is real hard to get a decent deal, no matter how good you are. That has been the problem with Galliani. In some cases this was self-inflicted (paying players too much), in others he was set up for failure (I believe Fininvest forced him to sell Ibra and probably Silva).

Juve gets better deals because they have their financial house in order, so they are not forced to sell anyone.

Posted by: X-Offender Apr 1 2017, 01:16 PM

Huh? Juve is not a selling club. They sold Pogba for a crazy amount but purchased Higuan for another crazy amount. Likewise, when Napoli sold Cavani they signed Higuain right away. I can't see how you'd call them selling clubs.

It's as Danny said. Every player has a price, regardless for which club they play.

Posted by: han2503 Apr 1 2017, 03:47 PM

It's not just a monetary issue for clubs in Italy though, Juve had to sell Pogba not just because of the money, but because the player wanted to leave, same thing with Vidal.

Napoli are run amazingly well, especially considering where they've come from. But let's not kid ourselves, they can't afford to keep players like Cavani long term. They can't afford to meet certain wage demands, and especially not for a large number of players, they've managed to hold onto Hamsik, but all the other top players they've had have been sold.

Also, I disagree with that saying, that all clubs are selling clubs, you don't see Real and Barca selling their best players. Danny mentioned Di Maria and Ozil, let's not kid ourselves, Real only sold them because they wanted to make way for the more marketable "It" players of the moment (James and Bale)