[d'Arc.LP]

Both Montolivo and Bertolacci made names for themselves by plaing in the double-pivot for Fiorentina and Genoa, respectively. Bertolacci more recently, as Montolivo is now approaching 32 and can't play anywhere else in midfield except for in front of the defense.

As for your argument that neither of them are defensive midfielders and ball winners, I disagree. In modern football nowadays being a ball winner is the prerequisite for every central midfielder. Gone are the days when you had one-dimensional players like Gattuso or Davids whose only jobs were to win balls and press the opponent. Bertolacci is certainly a box-to-box kind of players who can certainly pull off the duties of a DM if he puts his head into it. Same argument for Monto, although his easy-going attitude and slowness can make it a bit more difficult. You can perfectly play Kucka in there as well.

You are talking like we have not seen them play last season. I would like to think that you are right and I agree that in modern football a midfielder should know how to pass and defend in the same time, but that happens in high levels only. I know that Kucka knows how to pass, but he surely is not a play maker and I know that Montolivo is a play maker but the team can not rely on him to defend when needed. Sure Mihajlovic made him work a lot more and he progressed better when he was played before the defense but that only happened for few games.

[X-Offender]

You are talking like we have not seen them play last season. I would like to think that you are right and I agree that in modern football a midfielder should know how to pass and defend in the same time, but that happens in high levels only. I know that Kucka knows how to pass, but he surely is not a play maker and I know that Montolivo is a play maker but the team can not rely on him to defend when needed. Sure Mihajlovic made him work a lot more and he progressed better when he was played before the defense but that only happened for few games.

That's why I said that it depends on how much effort they put into it. Montella is trying to force a playing style that relies on ball possession, so overcrowding the midfield with players like Kucka, Poli etc. would certainly not work well in that regard. Monto and Bertolacci, and perhaps Jose Mauri, are the closest we have to midfielders who are not completely clueless on the ball.

I think Monto is imperative in our midfield, because he's the closest we have to a playmaker, regardless of how much it pains me to say this. And Bertolacci is the closest we have to a box-to-box mid. Whether you wanna add someone like Kucka in there, Sosa, play a 2-man midfield etc. is completely up to the coach.

[Forza Milan!]

Sosa might not be who we all wanted but he’s the smarter buy for a short term solution who can also be used as an instant fix. Bentancur was a total gamble

I 100% believe we’ll get another mid, but sadly that won’t be Kovacic. And looking at our current set of players we need a regista more than someone like Kovacic now that we’ve signed Sosa (not saying I wouldn’t be happy with Kovacic but I don’t think that’s who we’ll be going after)
Diawara is more realistic plus I think he has a lot of potential. Still think we need a proper regista though, Monto simply won’t cut it

Agreed

It seems like we’ve lost all sense of business savvy. We’re handing over player who are at least worth something for free because we’re desperate to get their wages off the payroll. Matri and Menez were both worth something that could have at least boosted our nonexistent budget but we were happy to just offload them for nothing.

I could argue that we lost our business savvy years ago (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .

However, in fairness, the situation right now is somewhat "complicated". You have the old management on their way out, and if they are human their motivation level is dropping, plus they are probably thinking about their "exit package" more than Milan's future. New management can't do much until they are officially "in charge", and anyway they probably need a little time to understand what is really going on and clean up the mess we are in (and that needs to happen before they worry about transfer market).

As for the wage bill, it is a real problem that needs to be resolved ASAP. Our expenses are way out of line (not just player wages), they need to be brought under control, and that needs to happen before we can really invest heavily. So deals like Matri and Menez actually make sense to me. Please keep in mind that mediocre players with high salaries are real hard to unload: teams with money are not interested, teams potentially interested don't have the money, and players are unlikely to take a salary cut when they have a good deal going if they just stay. BTW, this is why Galliani's market strategy in these last years has been inherently flawed.

This post has been edited by Forza Milan!: Aug 17 2016, 05:24 PM

[kurtsimonw]

Hope Milan don't get Diawara to be honest. Villa have had a €17m bid accepted. If no one else is willing to pay it, then he's got no choice.

[d'Arc.LP]

Official: Agreement reached with Besiktas: José Ernesto Sosa is a new AC Milan player https://www.acmilan.com/en/news/first-team/...come-principito

[X-Offender]

Look at him now get #85 or something ridiculous like that.

[d'Arc.LP]

Milan have intensified contacts for Diawara. In the last hours there was a positive summit between parties, Milan are trying to close the deal [TMW].

[X-Offender]

Look at him now get #85 or something ridiculous like that.

He got #23 in the end.

Milan have intensified contacts for Diawara. In the last hours there was a positive summit between parties, Milan are trying to close the deal [TMW].

This guy any good?

[d'Arc.LP]

Milan are working to sign a midfielder, Galliani had a positive meeting with Diawara's agent. The offer is loan with option to buy for €15m, but Bologna prefer to sell. Milan are also closely following the situation of Kovacic, they are thinking about a loan, maybe with an option to rebuy (like Morata's deal). #GdS

This guy any good?

I have no idea. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dunnosmiley.gif)

[X-Offender]

Latest rumors say Bologna will accept Napoli's offer for Diawara.

[X-Offender]

Adriano switched to #7 (which probably means he'll stay).

[d'Arc.LP]

From Brazil, "Lancenet": Milan are interested in Manchester City's midfielder, Fernando (29).

Sevilla and Valencia are also interested in Diego Lopez. #GdS

Milan have never made an official offer to Bologna for Diawara. Milan can only offer a loan + option to buy, not obligation. [MilanNews]

[han2503]

If we can get Kovacic I'll be blissed out happy, but I hope it's not on a shoddy deal like the one Juve had for Morata, that's just asking to get f@cked over imo

This Diawara kid looks very interesting, I can't see us signing him though as Bologna want cash and we don't have it. Napoli seem close to closing the deal it seems (how many midfielders does this team need?? Surely they'll have issues trying to keep everyone happy over there)

[Jack Sparrow]

Kovacic or Paredes? Who would you guys prefer?

[d'Arc.LP]

Kovacic or Paredes? Who would you guys prefer?

Kovacic.