[han2503]

Based on what I've seen I'm happy with that. He was frightened against Dortmund and had a poor poor match, but he REALLY got it together v Bayern and showed he's more than capable.

As well as Silva or instead of him?

Yeah, apparently he missed s couple of easy chances against Dortmund, didn't watch but he certainly looked confident against Bayern

i don't think Silva is fit enough to start atm, he only returned to training last week, so Montella will most likely start with the players who've been back to training the longest.

I don't think Conti, Silva or Bonucci will play. He did hint that the choices he made against Bayern were mostly looking forward to the EL qualifier, so we'll most likely see something similar to what we started with in that game. Borini and Niang are the obvious weak points, but I can see Hakan starting ahead of Borini and Niang was pretty good against Bayern, so not too worried about that.

No idea, depends on what system we'd be playing.

I also read that we might include one between Bonucci and Biglia as UEFA allows to make one change before the midnight of Wednesday.

Monto is apparently injured again (I swear this guy is made of glass) so Biglia is the most likely to be included.

[Fishdoll]

Also fyi on transfers, apparently Bacca has a deal with OM, but OM doesn't have one with Milan. They wanted Bacca on loan and Fassone has shut that down according to Gazzetta.

Also re: Gazzetta, there's a very long interview with Montella in today's issue. Looks interesting (haven't had time to read it yet).

[Danny]

Yeah, apparently he missed s couple of easy chances against Dortmund, didn't watch but he certainly looked confident against Bayern

i don't think Silva is fit enough to start atm, he only returned to training last week, so Montella will most likely start with the players who've been back to training the longest.

Bruno Alves, 14 years older, strolled it v Marseille on Saturday and played way more of the Confed Cup semi than Silva did.

He also returned to club training later than Silva. If Silva's not fit, then that's shocking, and I doubt it's the case.

[X-Offender]

Danny vs Andrè Silva. The saga continues. Stay tuned.

[Danny]

Danny vs Andrè Silva. The saga continues. Stay tuned.

tbh if Han had said that about any player I'd have used the same argument. These guys are young - surely they're fit enough if a 35 year old is!

[Forza Milan!]

You're trying to upload an avatar or signature?

Avatar has to be 100 pixels by 100 pixels in size and gif,jpg,jpeg,png format

Thanks (the instructions say 150x150). In any case, I got it under 100x100, and still have the same issue.

[Danny]

With it looking more and more certain we'll end up with Kalinic, I decided to do some digging on what he can bring. His goal tally in Serie A is acceptable, about the same as the man he is essentially replacing, but his performances for his country are less impressive by comparison. But I found this:

Leading the attacks from the front and being the attacking spearhead, Kalinic is the main goal threat posed by Fiorentina. Talking about Kalinic’s actions with the ball, he can sense the movements of his teammates while receiving the ball. He has the ability to hold up the ball, shield it from the pressing opponent and dribble out of pressure. By doing so, Kalinic opens space behind the pressing line for his teammates to run into. He is also equally adept at dropping into midfield and allows the players around him to storm towards the opposition goal. In terms of the attacking threat, Kalinic is lethal inside the box and enjoys linking up with wide players and being at the receiving end of the cross. Most of his goals for Fiorentina last season were assisted from the wide zones. His decent first touch and above average ball control allow him to evade pressure in the middle and be very productive in front of the goal.

If Fiorentina aims to challenge for a Champions League position, the Kalinic must find the back of the net more often than last season, in which he scored 12 times. Even with Mauro Zarate, Mario Gomez, and Giuseppe Rossi in contention for the striker’s place, Kalinic must still be the first choice.

From this report, from about 2016, he is an above average striker, with decent presence on the ball and the ability to play as a target man. But he relies on crossing more than ball to feet and while he can hold up play, it's not his strength.

Based on that report, I'm really not sure he adds anything more than what we have - I'd rather sign no one than someone for the sake of it.

PS: Belotti reportedly close to a new deal at Torino, so that one seems a busted flush too. It's starting to look a fair bit disappointing.

[X-Offender]

Yeah, I think we'll end up with Kalinic in the end. Would be quite a let down.

[han2503]

Bruno Alves, 14 years older, strolled it v Marseille on Saturday and played way more of the Confed Cup semi than Silva did.

He also returned to club training later than Silva. If Silva's not fit, then that's shocking, and I doubt it's the case.

Silva returned to training last week and flew straight to China, same as Conti, neither will start as both have missed a big chunk of the preparation Montella has been doing with the others and are less match fit than those who have been training since the beginning of the month


Playing in a friendly where you can take it easier vs playing in an official match makes a big difference, no matter the opponent.

With it looking more and more certain we'll end up with Kalinic, I decided to do some digging on what he can bring. His goal tally in Serie A is acceptable, about the same as the man he is essentially replacing, but his performances for his country are less impressive by comparison. But I found this:


From this report, from about 2016, he is an above average striker, with decent presence on the ball and the ability to play as a target man. But he relies on crossing more than ball to feet and while he can hold up play, it's not his strength.

Based on that report, I'm really not sure he adds anything more than what we have - I'd rather sign no one than someone for the sake of it.

PS: Belotti reportedly close to a new deal at Torino, so that one seems a busted flush too. It's starting to look a fair bit disappointing.

No matter which way you look at it and try to spin it, Kalinic would be a much better fit than Bacca and he will improve us. Obviously not to the level that Auba or Belotti would have but he's a definate improvement over the ghost of Carlitos.

His goal scoring stats aren't all that, but what he provides in build up makes up for it.

Also, I agree that it would be slightly disappointing to not end this transfer market with a bang.

But I'm a firm believer that had we really been that interested in Kalinic, he would already be a Milan player, just like all the other players we signed.

No doubt there is interest and contacts, there might also be an agreement in place with the player as well, but my thinking is that they're keeping him on ice for now and they're looking at other possibilities. Auba is the most obvious and talked about, but as both Fassone and Mirabelli have hinted, there could be other targets that the press haven't picked up on yet.

Montella has clearly stated that we have 3 more targets to hit this summer, a striker, a mezalla and a winger. He also said that we're not in a rush, so we won't be making any panic buys.

We have already had a transfer window that has supassed all our expectations. I'll be okay with Kalinic for just next season, we can always make the big move for a forward next summer when we (hopefully) have CL football. But I definately think that F & M have something up their sleeves

[d'Arc.LP]

Tuttomercatoweb.com: Milan are closely following Vitesse forward Milot Rashica, currently valued at €8m. There is no immediate interest in bringing him to the club. He is also a target for Udinese.

[Fishdoll]

Gazzetta reporting that yesterday, Fassone and Mirabelli took a trip to an undisclosed location. It's apparently not Dortmund, but nobody seems sure just where they did go.

[Jack Sparrow]

Gazzetta reporting that yesterday, Fassone and Mirabelli took a trip to an undisclosed location. It's apparently not Dortmund, but nobody seems sure just where they did go.

Bunga bunga party with Yonghong Li on an undisclosed island in the South China Sea.

[X-Offender]

Gazzetta reporting that yesterday, Fassone and Mirabelli took a trip to an undisclosed location. It's apparently not Dortmund, but nobody seems sure just where they did go.

Calciomercato.com suggests London.

[Fishdoll]

Bunga bunga party with Yonghong Li on an undisclosed island in the South China Sea.

Yes, but AFTER the party.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/96.gif)

[han2503]

Gazzetta reporting that yesterday, Fassone and Mirabelli took a trip to an undisclosed location. It's apparently not Dortmund, but nobody seems sure just where they did go.

Yep, was just about to comment on this

Fassone and Mirabelli have reportedly begun secret negotiations for a player whose identity has yet to be revealed. [@Gazzetta_it]

The Milan officials reportedly took a trip yesterday, however the destination remains unknown for now.[@Gazzetta_it]

The only name that keeps popping up is Auba atm. I can't think of anyone else we'd be interested in that is available.

What do you guys think? For them to catch a quick flight, it has to be important as they usually hold all their meetings at Casa Milan

Are Bayern and Dortmund even back from China?

Milan were supposed to have met Kalinic's intermediary Ramadani. However, they have put the brakes to pursue another target. [@Corriere]

This also apparently happened last night, we were supposed to meet with his agent but backed out.

This also confirms my theory that we're keeping Kalinic on ice for now, we might even end up signing him and another striker if Niang is sold and Cutrone is sent on loan