Locatelli is a Sassuolo player. They signed him for 10M.

Guys, I don’t see the situation as grim as some of you do. We already have a good enough defense (Donna, Conti/Calabria, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Theo) and a good midfield for Giampaolo’s 4-3-1-2 that lacks only one element. What we need the most are a couple of quality strikers, hence all the interest in that area.

I have faith in Maldini and Boban, they’ll build a competitive team before the start of the season. Just be patient.

Competitive in what sense? Fighting for 10th spot? In which case I firmly agree.

4th.

All of these moves are coming out of left field. I honestly don't think even Di Marzio has any grasp on what's really going on at Casa Milan until it's bsaiclly almost done

The Silva move to Monaco collapsing has really screwed us over. Hopefully we can ship him out for good cash ASAP so we can make more moves. I'm actually excited about Correa, because he has the kind of profile we lack, but on the other hand this Leao kid looks average even on a youtube highlight real. 35m for him seems insane to me. I'd much rather have seen us try to go after a good midfielder with that kind of money rather than a kid who's only had a decent season in france. Looks like another Andre Silva to me

As for Zapata, I highly doubt he's going to be getting anywhere near the money at Genoa that he did with us. I'm sure they could have negotiated for a smaller pay packet that he would have accepted. Seems short sighted to me that we would let him go and open a can of worms that we could have avoided.

Anyway, let's see what this Duarte has to offer. I hope that at least 50% of these moves we're going for will come good


I'm not even letting myself think about Modric. I think chances of that happening are pretty slim and we shouldn't waste time on him when it's pretty much impossible and we need a creator in that midfield


Borini is a good utility player imo, and always gives his all, it's when he's asked t play in technical roles that he loses all my support. But he really pulled us out of a couple of jams last season especially when he played LB or LWB

Locatelli became Sassuolo's outright this summer


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Don't think it's that bad Danny

But with he squad as is (adding Correa , Bennacer and Leao to the equation) I still don't think it's enough.

The midfield is what's most concerning to me. The strikers won't score if we cannot get that midfield to function properly. We need a proper mezalla imo.

Bona, Biglia, Hakan and Paqueta are out most creative players in this area, 2 of them are unreliable in terms of injuries and let's not forget that Paqueta is still learning the ropes. While Hakan will be Hakan. I think it would be a fatal error to go into the season with this midfield


I still think we need that little extra something to be sure of making that. Roma, Lazio and Atalanta will all want in on that so we need to make sure we have an edge on them, and right now, we don't imo

On Cutrone:

- Massaro posted a farewell in Instagram
- The deal is reported to be anywhere from 22M to 25M (including bonuses)
- FWIW, here is what Gentile (Sky Sports) had to say: "È un attaccante che prometteva tanto bene, a me Cutrone quando ha iniziato il percorso rossonero aveva veramente sorpreso, poi ha avuto qualche difficoltà in più secondo me, un po’ perché non aveva giocato tanto, e quando non giochi tanto il minutaggio va sempre controllato prima di dare un giudizio. È anche vero, però, che tre gol, se non sbaglio, nel giro di un anno sono pochi. È chiaro che sottoporta ci si aspettasse di più.” [Loosely translated: "He is a forward with a lot of promise, he surprised me when he started at Milan, then he had some problems, in part because he did not play much, and when you do not play much playing time needs to be taken into account. However, three goals in a year is not much. Would have expected more."]

Yup. I believe we can compete for the 4th spot, but it will be tough, hopefully the mercato is not over. Assuming we get Leao, Correa, and Duarte, then I agree that midfield is our biggest weakness.

BTW, I believe Bennacer is a done deal, meaning he has already signed. All is missing is an official presentation, but that will wait until he comes back from vacation.

As for Leao, I have some concerns but opinions are generally positive.

Yes yes, we do. I never said we're fine as we are. We need another quality mezz'ala, a CB, and at least two strikers (assuming both Cutrone and Silva will be sold).

Personally, I'm more than fine with Musacchio starting games. I rate him, and if this Duarte guy can act as Zapata's replacement, then it's all good (also waiting for Caldara to return sometime).

What we need to do is sell Kessie. This guy is a huge hinderance, and I can't see us going anywhere if he continues to be a pivotal element of our midfield. Not sure with whom we're being linked in midfield anymore (last name I read was Praet?). Too bad we lost on the Barella deal. For him I would have sacrificed anyone in our team.

And as for attack, if we sell Cutrone and Silva, and sign Correa and someone else I think we're set.

I think Kessie and maybe even Hakan can do better in Gaimpaolo's system. More structure and clarity in the roles. I realize it may be wishful thinking, but ...

Nah man, Kessie is just thick. He's not good enough. We should sell him ASAP while his value is still around the 30M mark and there are some English clubs interested.

I'm thinking this from the stand point of assuming that we'll wrap up the Bennacer, Correa, Duarte and Leao deals in the coming week or so. Although there does seem to be complete radio silence on the Correa negotiations, but I'm hoping it's because all is concluded and there is nothing left to report until they announce it

So with all that i mind, and assuming we've signed those players with only official announcements left to follow, I think we're covered in all areas aside from midfield. If we manage to bring in someone of quality to play either in the center of midfield or instead of Kessie, then I think we'd be set and have a pretty good squad going into the season


I agree re the defense and attack. The midfield is worrying, both due to Kessie and the injury issues we have in that department

As thins stand our midfield will looks as follows



That's still pretty weak imo. Let's not forget how crucial Bakayoko was last season as well

And from what I read about Bennacer, he's much better on the side rather than in the centre where you have to be a lot more disciplined.

We don't really have anyone who can fill in for Biglia. And Kessie imo is a major weakness especially in Giampaolo's system

So ideally we need someone who replaces Kessie as a starter imo

We actually could play like so, with Hakan and Paqueta being interchangeable. But I don't know, could be a bit too attack minded




Nah, Hakan maybe, but I actually think Kessie will be even more exposed in a system like Giampoalo's where you have to be smart to carry out what's required of you. Kessie, is terrible at keeping the ball moving quickly and that's what Giampaolo wants from his teams. Last season I wanted to pull my hair out every time he lifted the ball off the ground to pass to somene close to him instead of making a simple quick pass.


Agreed. We need to try to offload him to some English club that's stupid enough to give us good money for him


Right now aside from the midfield, I really am curious to see who else we'll sell. Cutrone is gone, Silva has a foot out the door, but Suso, Castillejo, Kessie, Laxalt could all be moved on for decent money, so we should be working on that front especially on the Spaniards, who don't really fit into the system we'll use

Selling Kessie seems unlikely because there have been no rumors of any kind linking him to someone or even suggesting he'll be leaving.

Still not sure why you guys are so positive. Compete for the 4th? Maybe, but we have so many unknown variables that we might finish 4th if opposition (Roma and Lazio) allow us, or we might finish 8th or 9th. Leoa? Correa? Duarte? Bennacer? Krunic? Complete shots in the dark, beside Correa. What we need is stability and experience, someone who can contribute and perform with continuity. Up until now none of our players comes to mind beside Romagnoli.

Oh and yes, Giampaolo is a question mark as well. First time at a big club after years of (mostly) Serie B football. Has a tendency to make his teams unpredictable and drop form unexpectedly, something in the lines of that old hack Spalletti y'all used to adore some time ago.

Hmm, true. You have a point, a lot of things could easily turn out pear shaped for us.

I think so far we've made a lot of risky moves for young players, and I fear that we're mostly just looking at these players with an outlook for what their potential price could be a few years down the line.

But still, I think we've made some good moves that improve on what we had last season. Bennacer for me is someone who I think is going to be a huge asset going forward. Leao and Duarte are complete shots in the dark but they're going to be back ups so I'm not too worried.

And yes, I agree that we lack experience, it's what I want in the midfield tbh, someone with experience and quality who can make the difference, don't know who that could be at this point but it's what I think we need to make everything click

Agreed about Giampaolo as well, but sometimes you just have to have a bit of faith on these things. He's definitely a more astute tactician than Rino who took us to a single point away from 4th, so I'm hoping that extra bit of know how will put us over the edge

That's incorrect. Bennacer was signed with the sole intention of covering the slot left open from Bakayoko. He'll be positioned in front of the defense. It's also the position he covered at Empoli.

Right now, our midfield look like this:





You want stability and experience, but at what cost do you intend to achieve that? Did you forget we just got kicked from Europe because we amassed a ridiculous 126M loss for 2018/19?

We need a fresh start, with young and relatively inexpensive players. Unless you want to splash a fortune for the likes of Bale, James Rodriguez and friends in order to get that stability and experience you strive for.

This is the best we can afford right now, and given the circumstances, I think Maldini and Boban are doing a pretty good job thus far.

Not going to contradict you about Bennacer, because I'm not sure, we'll see

You make a good point and I'd agree, had we not just spent 30m on a Portuguese kid who only had a singl good season in the French league.

Add to that, there's talk that the Correa deal is stalling because of this, which is worrying. We need a proper SS, so all this is making me a bit weary


Btw, anyone watching the friendly against Benfica? I have to say we look decent so far

I gave up long ago on these pre-season matches. I somehow came to the conclusion that you can learn little about the true quality of the team from them.