The arrival of Oguchi Onyewu (27) could not be the only signing for AC Milan's backline. In fact, they are interested in Brazil and Corinthians left-back Andre Santos, who was already tracked by the Rossoneri before. It is reported that AC Milan officials will soon make a bid for the Brazillian.

There have been rumours here in belgium that viudez and cardaccio will be loaned out to Standard Liege

And @ blue I don't know where you got this notion from that Milan have money to spend. Because Galliani made it pretty clear that we don't have any as the Kaka and Yoann money already went into taking care of the books.

The real stupid thing is that we've spent around 15m making idiotic co-ownership deals. That is what's happening here.

So don't try and defend this BS. They went the youth route because its cheaper. But if you're really going to do this well try actually getting good youngsters not your own kids that barely made it to the Reggina starting line-up

And no there will be no 3 world class players coming in, we'll be lucky to get Fabiano and I don't know about you but I certainly wouldn't classify him as World Class

Nice post Blue, but i think the above statement is other way around .

I agree with most of the things u have said. and im happy we are investing more in youth. But i dont think we would be competitive enough considering the inexperienced youth. But i will wait and see how they do. Hope Milan will be Great again

Jetzt liegt`s an Huntelaar

Tritt beim VfB Stuttgart nach dem Wechseltheater um Hoffenheims Demba Ba Plan B in Kraft? Nach einer Meldung der spanischen Sportzeitung "Marca" soll der Wechsel des niederländischen Goalgetters Klaas-Jan Huntelaar von Real Madrid zu den Schwaben bereits perfekt sein. Ein VfB-Sprecher sagte gegenüber der dpa: "Wir geben dazu keinen Kommentar ab."


Irgendwann ist alles reif. Doch statt einen süßen könnte die Entscheidung über die Zukunft von Demba Ba einen bitteren Nachgeschmack haben. Am heutigen Donnerstag wollen die Verantwortlichen das letzte Wort sprechen. Sollte beim VfB nach der Untersuchung doch die Skepsis über die Zuversicht siegen, wird Ba verlieren. Für diesen Fall liegt bereits Plan B - und sogar Plan C - parat. Dann soll entweder Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (25) von Real Madrid oder Vagner Love (25) von ZSKA Moskau stattdessen ins VfB-Trikot schlüpfen.
zum Thema

Während beim Brasilianer bisher lediglich Modalitäten und Möglichkeiten abgeklopft wurden, sollen die Gespräche mit dem Niederländer schon weit fortgeschritten sein. Nach Informationen aus Spanien verhandelten Stuttgarter Verantwortliche am Montag in Madrid mit Reals Generaldirektor Jorge Valdano und erzielten eine Einigung. Für die Basis-Ablöse von 18 Millionen Euro darf Huntelaar (1,86 m, 80 kg), der als ausgesprochener Torjäger gilt, die Königlichen verlassen. Erfolgsabhängige Komponenten wie eine erfolgreiche Qualifikation zur Champions League sollen den Betrag auf bis zu 20 Millionen erhöhen. Jetzt liegt es am Nationalspieler, dessen Kontrakt in Spanien bis 2013 läuft. Doch Huntelaar, der erst im Januar 2009 zu Real wechselte (20 Spiele, 8 Tore), zögert mit einer Zusage.

Der EURO-Teilnehmer 2008 (insgesamt 23 Länderspiele, 13 Tore für die Niederlande) favorisiert den AC Mailand, der sich für ihn interessiert. Die Italiener erscheinen ihm sportlich und repräsentativ reizvoller, wollen ihn aber wiederum am liebsten nur ausleihen und haben zudem Luis Fabiano vom FC Sevilla im Auge. Zerschlägt sich dieser Deal, würden Sie auf Huntelaar zugehen. Die dann im Raum stehenden 14 Millionen Euro Ablöse, die auch für Luis Fabiano zur Verfügung stehen, schmecken Real zudem nicht so recht. Wie den Madrilenen auch missfällt, dass der Stürmer im Fall eines Transfers auf eine Abfindung besteht. Oder zumindest auf einen Ausgleich für ein etwaiges finanzielles Ungleichgewicht zu seinen Lasten beim neuen Klub. Momentan wird Huntelaars Jahresgehalt auf rund 4 Millionen Euro brutto, etwa 2,5 Millionen netto, taxiert.

Eine Entscheidung könnte bereits vor Freitag fallen, wenn Real in die Saisonvorbereitung einsteigt. Sollte sich die Verpflichtung des Holländers nicht realisieren lassen, werden die Stuttgarter sich auf Vagner Love konzentrieren, mit dem bisher aber nicht konkret verhandelt wurde. Der brasilianische Nationalstürmer könnte ZSKA für rund 15 Millionen verlassen. Dann würde dem VfB erneut ein Rennen gegen die Zeit ins Haus stehen.

VFB Stuttgart are interested in Huntelaar as well. They're willing to pay 15 million plus bonuses up to 5 million depending on their success in the upcoming season. It seems as if Real have agreed to their terms, but Huntelaar seems to prefer Milan. Problem is, that Real don't want a to give him away for loan and that Huntelaar is a bit p!ssed that we seem to prefer Fabiano.

It's all Huntelaar's problem that we don't want him... he's not Brazilian

And also that he cannot do what Fabiano does. Since he's a lot less mobile.

I'm guessing with Huntelaar it wouldn't be a 4-3-3, but more of a proper 4-3-1-2. While that wouldn't be there with Fabiano.

And @ blue I don't know where you got this notion from that Milan have money to spend. Because Galliani made it pretty clear that we don't have any as the Kaka and Yoann money already went into taking care of the books.

The real stupid thing is that we've spent around 15m making idiotic co-ownership deals. That is what's happening here.

So don't try and defend this BS. They went the youth route because its cheaper. But if you're really going to do this well try actually getting good youngsters not your own kids that barely made it to the Reggina starting line-up

And no there will be no 3 world class players coming in, we'll be lucky to get Fabiano and I don't know about you but I certainly wouldn't classify him as World Class

AC Milan GM Adriano Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport : "With the signing of Oguchi Onyewu, our defence is now complete and we are not interested in FC Porto left-back Aly Cissokho or in other players anymore. Moreover, we count on Alessandro Nesta, who has recovered from his terrible back injury. Our transfer market is almost over".

@ han:

So tell me if we did spend around 70 million this transfer season, would you start believing in this project? I didn't say 3 world class players, I said 1 great CF, 1 good CB, 1 decent mid. Oneywu is a good defender and we are lucky we got him for free because his price tag is easily 10 million right now after his confed cup performances.

I have faith in Di Gennaro and Abate. I do not consider them to be very good but then again I don't think I would consider any of Barcelona's home grown player to be very good if they played for low quality teams. We always say we don't give our young players a chance well this may be what we were looking for so I'll wait to see them play first before coming to a conclusion

I'm all for giving youngsters the chance. But I'm against what we're trying to do which is going from one extreme to the other.

First the kids could barely make a bench sitting on Coppa matches and suddenly we're promoting every kid that can run from the primavera to the full team in the hopes of fillinf the team and shutting the fans up by saying we have enough players

I don't want to be an I told you so person, because I hate those people, but when in 2 years time we're a mid table team scraping for UEFA Cup I'm sorry Europa Cup football you'll see who was right and who was wrong in this

This isn't quite my prediction but i do believe the next 2-3 years we will struggle...depends on the 3 or 4 places for the C.L. we will be behind the usual 2 and possibly the Viola...as i posted in another thread the fixation with the early 90's success has many people biased as to where we should be and what we should be winning...we are a club in a transitional period and a crucial one at that were this could dictate the long term future and stature of the club.

At the moment we are getting by on our recent past and the clubs prestige but for how long?
There will be a time when that won't be enough to attract players no doubt we will hear from a player in the not to distant future "I didn't choose to go to A.C Milan because i want to win things"

Agreed.

But I do think that there is one way to go through a transitional period and another and Milan are going down the wrong route. Its so obvious the mistakes they've made over the last few seasons. The fact that they choose to overlook what is already in front of them and going for the South Americans. I'm talking about overlooking players like Cigarini, Criscito, etc You've got the mid table teams in Serie A exchanging these players for small ammounts of money and instead of pouncing on them we're wasting time trying to get the first Brazilian that comes up on the radar

i'm going to wait and see how all this plays out before I say that Milan are going to be scraping for UEFA cup spots in 2 years (which i don't believe).

i agree with galiani in the fact that real has EXTREMELY screwed the transfer market this year. the same way chelsea screwed it up when abramovich got to chelsea.

i have a feeling that when things settle out we will be just fine. it may take us awhile to get back to our glory years, but we've been here before and we made it through just fine. we have no idea what's going on behind closed doors and we have no idea what's going to happen in 2-3 years.

this is a new coach with a new strategy. you can't expect everything to change back in 1 year. true, things may have been mismanaged over the past couple of years, but i still feel like that's because carlo was our coach. and he was not a good coach when it came to developing young talent.

let's give leonardo sometime to get in there and build the team he wants to build.

too much doom and gloom in this thread...things could be a lot worse

i'm going to wait and see how all this plays out before I say that Milan are going to be scraping for UEFA cup spots in 2 years (which i don't believe).

i agree with galiani in the fact that real has EXTREMELY screwed the transfer market this year. the same way chelsea screwed it up when abramovich got to chelsea.

i have a feeling that when things settle out we will be just fine. it may take us awhile to get back to our glory years, but we've been here before and we made it through just fine. we have no idea what's going on behind closed doors and we have no idea what's going to happen in 2-3 years.

this is a new coach with a new strategy. you can't expect everything to change back in 1 year. true, things may have been mismanaged over the past couple of years, but i still feel like that's because carlo was our coach. and he was not a good coach when it came to developing young talent.

let's give leonardo sometime to get in there and build the team he wants to build.

too much doom and gloom in this thread...things could be a lot worse

Not doom and gloom i just think it's realism...we have only been at the ultimate top once when we dominated everything...i'm all for the process of change and hope it is done with some strategic sense and patience and with a degree of trust in the youth and in the transfer market and not this "pulling wool over eyes" of the last 2 seasons and i've said numerous times that i loved Carlo as a coach but his lack of trusting the youth did make my blood boil!

----------------Dida----------------------

Bonera--Thiago Silva-Nesta--Zambrotta-

Gattuso----Pirlo-------Ambrosini----

Pato-----------CF-----------Ronaldinho

I think these 2 line ups are quality and can defeat 17 out of 20 serie A teams. Yes we will have trouble beating inter, fio, and juve but who said we didn't last season? I think with the right amount of effort and the benching of certain players we can def obtain a better milan than carlos. Furthermore, with a bench of some young players who will see playing time, we can build a balanced team which can compete in 2-3 years for all honors.

Yes next season our objective is third, fair enough, we are building a project. But its not gonna be like that forever. You are demanding instant results when it is impossible because we are dealing with the loss of silvio, which will do its damage for a season or two.

Report: Sevilla set 18 million euro price tag for Luis Fabiano. Milan are in pole position to sign the Brazilian forward this summer. An official deal could be announced as early as Monday.

Knowing Galliani...13 million and Digao+Antonini in exchange.

is this true though?

They initially wanted 30m, if that is to be believed that is...

But Milan first bid 14m. I think the fact that Fabiano wants to come and his agent is pushing for it made them lower it so significantly.

Still there is a 4m gap, let's hope Galliani doesn't p!ss the deal away, because Fabiano is probably our last option before they start thinking about the nightmare that is Adebayour again

I would buy some one who move and shot like Inazghi and the name is : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNKltVzZLZ8 Vedad Ibisevic , Mourinho wanted to buy him guy scored 18 goals in 17 match beafore he got injured, he is 23 and he is future Pipo

is he proven though ?

I don't think that Fabiano is good enought to play for Milan really guys : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Fabiano#Club_career_2

His career wasent so impresiv, if we sold Boriello 20-25 Mil we could bring WC striker, i would love to see Eto with Ronaldhino again...

Who would pay that much money for Boriello? Ahem, we could improve his stats on FM 2010 so that ManCity wants him.

Calcio Debate: Milan Need To Start Spending, Or They Will Win Nothing Next Season

With the Rossoneri being so quiet this summer, Adam Scime sees them falling significantly adrift of their main competitors...

Italian champions Inter have had an effective transfer campaign this summer. They brought in two Genoa stars in Diego Milito and Thiago Motta to add depth and strength to their squad, while getting rid of some dead weight like Luis Jimenez and Julio Cruz.

Meanwhile, Juventus are looking to correct their mistakes from last year, signing highly-touted playmaker Diego, veteran centre-back Fabio Cannavaro, and are on the verge of a major coup in Fiorentina and Brazil star Felipe Melo.

What have the other giant in Italy, AC Milan, done you might ask? It seems they've only been taking steps backwards.

Where is Everybody Going?

The end of last season already saw the retirement of the legendary Paolo Maldini and long-time coach Carlo Ancelotti depart for the ambitious Chelsea, followed by their star midfielder, Kaka, being sold to Real Madrid for a huge amount of money - €68.5 million.

The problem is, it seems Milan have no intention of creating a squad that is competitive enough to contend on all fronts, despite their main voices in owner Sivilo Berlusconi and vice-president Adriano Galliani repeating ad nauseum that the club already is competitive.

Really? The last two seasons they have finished fifth and third in Serie A respectively and not made a dent in Europe - and now they have lost their Brazilian talisman, their best player.

Losing Their Touch

The sole moves of note have been acquiring United States international defender Oguchi Onyewu and bringing back Italy Under-21 substitute Ignazio Abete from his loan spell - neither of which have the capacity to contribute on a more than inconsistent basis.

The club's transfer campaigns of the past used to be dazzling. They spotted and snapped up the potential of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Kaka, Cafu, and a few more when others were afraid to take the chance - now Milan look like they are the ones that are horrified.

Porto left-back Aly Cissokho was a step in the right direction, but apparently his dental work isn't up to scratch, resulting in a failed medical. Now, Milan are most commonly mentioned alongside Confederations Cup hero Luis Fabiano, but it can be argued even his acquisition will not be enough to see them match the Nerazzurri or Bianconeri.

Reinforcements Needed

Expecting Milan to find someone on the level of Kaka is unlikely, but if they believe the Sevilla striker will have the same influence as one of history's most expensive players they are sadly mistaken.

The fans seem to agree, protesting the club's meagre transfer operations in public. The truth is, Fabiano is only one step (should his transfer go through), but they need to climb the stairs even higher to reach their rivals by bringing in two more quality signings, preferably Cissokho and a proven midfielder who can add some spark to the side.

One can make an argument for Ronaldinho, but his best days are behind him and there is little to no chance he will carry the mantle like Kaka did, and relying on the former Barcelona man would be a gamble.

The budget may be balanced right now but, nonetheless, have you ever heard the saying 'it takes money to make money'?

Milan fans should continue to protest the lack of dealings, otherwise they can prepare themselves for another trophyless campaign.