Yup, that is the point I was trying to make ...

BTW, EPL will be interesting this year with Mou, Guardiola, and Conte all leading top-tier teams.

100% Official: Milan appoint Montella....

http://www.football-italia.net/86505/offic...ppoint-montella

That was quick considering how slow Milan makes its decision

The situation could be worse, Montella isn't a bad coach. He had a real project going when he was at Fiorentina but the management pooped the bed. They didn't pay to keep Salah which he saw as a step back and the band broke up. At Samp, the team lost some pep when he got there. They lost Romagnoli, sold Eder, Regini left. The blame can't fall squarely on his shoulders.

The Chinese takeover brings hope though, something I feel like I have had none of this summer. Even if it's 3 years we finally have light at the end of the tunnel. Lapadula was a good buy as we will most surely lose Bacca. Maybe it's not the worst thing. We can get around 30 mil for him and that will hopefully be funneled into the team. This was the main problem with Berlu in the last few years. We were making the money by selling our stars and that money would go right towards covering the losses. Hopefully that isn't the case any longer. Getting 30 mil for an admittedly deadly finished will be mitigated by the re purposing of that money to other positions. Foundation is built from the back forward. Juve haven't had the most dangerous strikers in recent years yet their defense and midfield put them in the conversation with teams like Barca, Real, and Bayern.

Donna and Romag are a good start, hopefully some money goes to a new cb to play next to Romag and a midfielder or two. With Montella comes the possibility of Soriano which wouldn't be terrible. If I remember correctly Fiorentina employed wingers when Montella was there which could see us looking towards Pjanca who is at least a promising young player.

If the highlight reel is any indication Lapa looks to be strong in the air and more of a mobile player. He also has a knack for that final ball as well as the ability to find the net himself. Hopefully his Serie B form translates. All in all he is a good striker with the ability to be part of a committee. IMO could be a steal for 10 mil.

I'm in the minority then. I still don't think we wasted the majority of the transfer money this season. There was really only Bertolacci and the jury is still out. What if he turns out good this season. It won't be the first time we've had such a case in football, when someone turned things around.

I'm on the fence with Montella. I think he is definitely an ambitious coach, and he has played football in the recent era so he should in 'theory' connect with the dressing room - but has not been known as a character. Will he put those dgaf players into line or will he crib and demand transfers as the solution to everything?

If we're having Montella, we need to get a couple of leaders in the dressing room. We know Montolivo is no captain, and Abate doesn't have the CV to pull it off.

Bring us Van Bommel !!

Having said that (I agree with your points), don't you think we could have looked at a bigger name with more experience? Pellegrini was available, I don't think he's spectacular or anything close to that but I think he's good and he's had success with smaller teams.

I just feel like this appointment and all the players we're looking at reek of Berlu and Galliani's work. We've signed an Italian Serie B striker to (most likely) replace Bacca. We're looking at guys like Soriano for the midfield when we should be looking at much better players especially in that position.

It feels like the ridiculous ItalMilan plan is still underway and that just plain scares the sh!t out of me


Bertalocci is weak, both physically and mentally. He's just not good enough and certainly not worth the money Galliani wasted on him when we could have gotten Witsel for that amount

Yeah Bertolacci. Maybe he'll show us something. Or maybe he's another player like Poli. Great in a mid-tier side.

But you're right no big names are being talked about. I think those will come into play only once the takeover is made official - if it becomes official at all. The Chinese investors will want to take credit for the big buys and so we wouldn't hear about them now.

Other news, de Sciglio has been declared unselleable along with Gigio. Calabria may therefore be loaned out to Cagliari.

Calabria is a right back though, yes?

As for Bertolacci, I don't think he's any good. Looks to me completely useless, but hey we paid much for him, perhaps we should try another time. Pirlo wasn't any good at Inter as well.

I feel the problem is Bertolacci plays the exact same position as Bonaventura but in a different sort of way. If we only had a Di Maria sort of player to play in our deep midfield, a player like Bertolacci then becomes a huge asset, because there is someone who is running into space and attacking the goal.

Both Jack and Berto are more ponderous on the ball. Jack much less so, plus he isn't afraid to dribble at the flanks and cut in. Hence he's an automatic selection.

Soriano brought in will almost definitely spell the end of Berto though. Don't think he can be deep lying mid at all.

That's my personal opinion of him yes. I really don't think he'll be any good for us and the only reason we'll try to make it work is because he cost us so much. Especially when we could have gotten Witsel last summer for the kind of money we spent on Berto

What worries me most is that we're basically looking at the same type of player that we have been looking at for years now. Scouring the league for mid-level talent who just had a slightly above average season with the likes of Genoa, Empoli etc.

If we're going after Italian players then we should be looking at the really talented ones like Berardi for example (Montella will use wingers I'm hearing). If we have money to spend then we should go for the right kind of talent not just random names simply because of who their agent is or because they play for Genoa.

I honestly don't know when we'll see the true spending power of the new owners. It's not even really official yet so all the cynicism from us (especially me) might be premature, but we've been burned one too many times now


They're going to send him on loan though. I think that we signed Vangioni as well (don't ask, I really don't know anything about this but read it earlier this summer. Don't even know if it's official tbh)

So I think they might be going for DS, Abate for the right side, Antonelli and this guy for the left. (I think DS is a much better LB than he is a RB but that's whole other conversation altogether)

Also, I've been reading around and apparently Montella wants quality mids, especially a regista, so expect us to be linked to every mid in the league. So far it's Soriano, Kovacic, Paredes, Fernando, Zielinski and Badelj


Meh, I don't think they have anything to do with each other. Bona is a LM, he can play centrally but I think he works best a bit wide and advanced. Berto is more of a box-to-box type player. And he's not really good at either tracking back or really bombing forward with purpose

Sounds like we have new owners, and there will be an official ceremony in September.

With that in mind, I would not count on anything spectacular during the Summer transfer season. I am hoping that we can do something more substantial in the Winter transfer window.

Even on a limited budget in theory we could make some meaningful changes. However, I am expecting more of the same.

ibra has announced that he will go to man u

Very indicative. I think he waited to see how things will turn out with Milan. Since he's picked ManU, I suppose it isn't rosy.

I love Ibra. (not as much as Porty, but I still love him). That said, I think Man Utd was a sensible choice. It has nothing to do with Milan I think. Man Utd gave him a one-year contract with crazy money. He gets to be in one more top team and cement his legend. He probably no longer has the time to play in Bundesliga now.

And as for Man Utd and Mourinho, he gets a sworn Guardiola hater in his team. Expect the press to have a field day now.

Perhaps, but why did he then wait so long to confirm?

I believe, it was because of the Euros.I think he is a team first sort of individual. I suppose he didn't want the news of his move to Man Utd overshadowing Sweden and their preparations. In fact he hasn't talked about his transfer much till recently. He only brought up this own clothing line.

But in other news, I did hear that one of the conditions Man Utd raised was that he must retire from Sweden before signing for them and things becoming official. I doubt Milan was ever on the cards. One of the things he has said is "I'll never go back to a place where I created history." You could say that about Milan and him.

Yeah, I don't think Milan was ever a possibility for Ibra.

We'll never know. But I'm not convinced with the whole Euros and Sweden thing. Ibra had an announcement ready but delayed it on the last minute. But who knows...

So, Milan being linked with Mati Fernandez, Badelj, Zielinski, Vazquez and now Sneijder. There's also Pjaca, wanted by Inter and Juventus as well.

For the defense, Arbeloa and Benatia (probably to Juve) also mentioned. Thoughts?

Paredes and Kovacic are also heavily linked.

Well, my thoughts are is that at least we're being linked to the right type of mids.

Benatia will be going to Juve (What a defence they will have next season, although I do not understand the move from the player's perspective tbh, going from one bench to another seems pointless), we simply do not have the management with the type of ingenuity needed to hi-jack this sort of deal. And he'll be going for an absolute steal as well, I read loan with obligation to buy for 18m, makes me want to weep.

I think Mati Fernandez and Badelj are pretty average, I don't really think they'll improve us all that much.

Zielinski and Vazquez are both very interesting players and I'd be happy with either as both would be massive improvements on what we have. Paredes as well looked very good with Empoli last season. I mean, all these guys would easily move Monto, Kucka or whoever to the bench imo.

Kovacic is the name that really gets me excited though. I really like him and his style.

Sneijder is past it, don't know why we'd even consider him, and this coming from someone who's been a huge admirer of his throughout his career. We'd be signing him 10 years too late, but I guess that's the way we do things at Milan

Btw Fillipo, what's your verdict on Pjaca, is he worth the fuss? He's being linked to a lot of clubs, and he comes with a pretty big price tag as well

I agree with most of that.

Benatia would be great, but he's almost certainly the Cacares replacement in rotation with Barzagli.

I think Fernandez and Badelj are good players, but I think they are more of the same. We need to improve rather than add depth and Zielinski, Vazquez, Parades and Kovacic would both be improvements and the creative types we need.

As for Sneijder, the fact he's called to ask to go back to Inter and they've said "Ehhh, if you lower your wage demands a lot, then maybe we'll think about it... possibly... or not" kind of speaks volumes.

http://www.football-italia.net/86836/berlusconi-i-sold-milan


Comments

Pjaca is a big question mark, just as well as Kovačić to me. Mateo has terrific potential, but the level he sunk to in just one season of unregular play at Real Madrid makes me question his true depth and mental strength. But he's far superior to any of the other players mentioned/linked with Milan.

I read Milan is also linked with Gomez and Musacci (FI).

Well, if the man himself says so, then I guess it's finally time to rejoice.

finger crossed but lets hope so.

I think his son also confirmed that.

But very strange.

What is?

The whole thing. One would expect they make a big announcement and add some flavor to it. The way Berlu bluntly talked to the media and said everything is a bit curious judging from past experiences.

Oh, and what I don't understand is why do we need to let go of Bacca?

It seems like the Italian news outlets are going nuts with the rumours atm. Apparently Silvio negotiated for a lower sale price in order to guarantee more money going directly into the transfer market. Don't know if he quoted the figure himself but it's being reported that we'll have 400m to spend over the next 2 years. If true this will be the start of Milan getting back to where it belongs.

That kind of money worries me when it's in Galliani's hands. That being said, it's also reported that Montella will have an influence, plus Gancikoff will be the new CEO with Galliani remaining Vice-President (for now at least). So I'm hoping this will temper Galliani a bit from trying to strike deals to only make his friends happy. I read somewhere (I'll try to find the link) that we paid more in agent fees than Bayern and Juve combined!!

So just to list the names we've been linked with most of these coming from Sky, GDS and Corriere

- Musacchio - Plays for Sevilla, I think he's a really promising defender, they want around 25m for him, we're offering around 18m to 20m
Mustafi is apparently the backup option

- Valero, Kovacic, Zielinski, Paredes and Andre Gomes have all been linked, latest 2 names have been Martinez and Verratti, but the last 2 names I just thing the papers are going overboard now that the sale of the club is confirmed from the man himself.

I'd personally take all of Valero, Kovacic and Paredes if I had the choice. We need a complete overhaul in that midfield and I think it's a good mix of creative/technical players. Valero being the older player who I think can make an instant impact.

Bacca will most definately be sold. I personally don't understand the thinking behind this since he managed to score 20 goal with a terrible supporting cast behind him, if we can manage to build a good team for next season he'd be scoring for fun. That being said he is 30 and from a financial perspective I can sort of understand why they would sell him now before his value plunges. (Atletico Madrid seem interested and would be willing to offer 25m for him)

Name I read could be on the way out: Niang, Poli, Mauri, Menez, Honda, Locatelli, Lopez (close to Chelsea, we could get 10m for him), Ely and probably Adriano as well

GdS said there will be a ceremony once the sale is 100% complete (not official, that will most likely be next week, I think they're calling it the preliminary. It will be totally complete in September)

€1.1 billion for new Milan
By Football Italia staff

Milan's new ownership will invest a total of €1.1 billion for the club's purchase and renaissance.

With the sale confirmed by president Silvio Berlusconi, albeit to a conglomerate the identity of which still hasn't been made public, much is expected to change at Milanello.

Along with the reshuffling of the board of directors, the Gazzetta dello Sport has run a report on the financial details of the operation.

Fininvest will be paid €450-500m for the purchase of 80 per cent of the club's shares. The Chinese will also assume the debt of €200m that burdens the Rossoneri.

Berlusconi also compelled them to agree to a €400m investment on the market and the club's resources. While the media mogul originally claimed this would be paid over two seasons, La Gazzetta reports that in fact it'll be spread over three years.

The new owners will intervene on the market right away, with the target of bringing Milan back to the Europa League and, ideally, in the Champions League.

They will attempt to increase the Diavolo's revenue by means of new partnerships in China and by improving the marketability of the brand. The new relationship with the club's sponsorship advisor Infront is yet to be defined.

Milan, unlike Inter, are currently not restrained by Financial Fair Play limitations, and as new investors, they will be allowed to hit a budget deficit at the end of their first season and balance it back later. This means that they can be expected to spend some very substantial amounts on the market this summer.

Our club website has a new look that I only saw now. It looks nice actually. A lot of the old annoyances are gone.

Interesting to read about all the transfer rumours. Also when one considers that this season we are allowed a budget deficit under FFP rules. Curious about what happens next.

It appears there's a whole re-branding situation going on. Milan Channel is now Milan TV as well. I guess it's because the media/PR side of things will now fall under different hands.

Jack Ma and Robin Li are apparently part of the consortium as well as the Evergrande Group and going by what Silvio said, the Chinese state also has a stake...

http://www.forbes.com/profile/robin-li/

http://www.forbes.com/profile/jack-ma/

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billio...iayin_3WN8.html

Reading through Forbes, Jack Ma has a minority share in the Evergrande group as well which is owned by Xu-Jiayin

So I guess that's the link, don't know anymore names from the consortium, but hopefully we'll know more soon (Hopefully once the preliminary agreement is signed next week)

I'd take only Kovacic. If we're going to spend a lot this summer let's spend it wisely instead of going after the next Bertolacci.

Sortmediaset says Galliani was in Zagreb today where he met Pjaca's agent. We've offered around 20 million, more than anyone.

I will wait for an official announcement before getting too excited. But it feels like we are heading in the right direction. All depends on how much say Galliani actually has on the market. Also, as usual the challenge will be getting rid of our over-paid mediocre players.

Football-Italia is running a story saying Pjaca's bid has been accepted and Dortmund are the only competition. We're offering 20 MM with 5 MM as bonuses.

Dortmund being excited actually leads me to think this might be a good purchase!

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm hoping we are now going to see a renaissance of Galliani the transfer master. There was a time when we had the cash flowing that Galliani was untouchable. That was 6 years ago but still...

Really? You wouldn't take Valero or Andre Gomes if we had the chance?

Plus I think Kovacic is a totally different type of mid to the others mentioned. Paredes, Valero and Andre Gomes are all pure CMs (regista types) Kovacic can play as an AM or as a side mid in a more attacking capacity.

I think we need both types of mids in our midfield, it can’t be just one or we’re stuck with Monto, Kucka or Bertolacci again and if we want to do better next season we need better players in there.

I’d take Kovacic definitely and Valero would be a short term solution until we find someone to make that spot his own for the next 10 years. But I don’t think that can happen this summer which is why Valero would be a smart move imo


6 years is an understatement. Galliani has been going downhill for a while now. Probably coinciding with the sale of Sheva, that’s how long we’ve been on a downhill slope. The spree in 2010 was nothing more than smoked and mirrors as we were forced to sell up only 2 summers later. Galliani was given money last summer and he flushed it down the toilet.

This summer though he will be tempered and there will be someone who is part of the Chinese consortium (Gancikoff) who will also have a major say. This isn’t Galliani running around with Berlu’s cash anymore, doing whatever he likes with it (mostly trying to please his friends like Kia, Raiola and Preziosi), this time he’ll have people to answer to, and I can’t imagine that he’ll be here for long should he have a summer similar to the last.

We have been buying high and selling low for a while now. For example, Juve make top dollar for the players they don’t want (let’s not get into how we financed their move for Tevez by buying Matri…), it’s being rumored now that Werder Bremen could make an offer of nearly 30m for Zaza (FFS!!), while we’re most likely to sell Bacca for that same price. We overpaid massively for Bertolacci who had done nothing prior to having a half decent season with Genoa. The only good move we made last summer was Romagnoli imo. The rest were ill-advised, and over-priced mistakes imo.

Here are a couple of tidbits from the twitter-sphere this morning

What makes me a bit unconfortable is that we're about to spill almost 50M for two talented but still risky players. Pjaca has talent and footballing intelligence, but I'm not sure how good he is. It's very hard to judge a player playing our league and only a handful of CL or important games. This can turn easily one way or the other.

As for Mussachio - this makes me even more skeptical. Sure potential. But what we really need is a complete defender, a leader of defense who could lead Romagnoli and command us. Can that be Mussachio? I doubt it.

Bottom line is, we we'll get two prospects for 50M. Which leaves still the midfield to be sorted out, still a commanding defender missing and still at least one extra player missing. Because we need such a player to reach a new level.

At this stage, I think we need to take a bit of a chance on younger players. We are not going to attract established top talent, not until we get back to European competition.

I don't think they're much better from what we currently have.

Apparently we're close to signing Jose Sosa (31) from Besiktas. Source: Gazzetta

Who? Valero and Kovačić? They are miles, miles better. The only true organizer we have is Montolivo, whom you don't rate at all if I remember correctly. Having two more creative players would be a vast improvement.


Must be a pre-sale story now published just for the sake of it.

Agreed, but I can't see how Musacchio and Romagnoli could work. Younger players is okay, as long as you have a good/solid defensive leader and one player with class. We lack both. And I don't think we're so bad we cannot attract at least someone in that range.

But could somebody explain the logic in selling Bacca to me?

He's an aging, one footed, poacher (all be it a very good one) whose value will likely only decrease from here on out. It's possible he doesn't fit into Montella's plans.

^^ Yes, more or less.

He's 30. His limitations have become quite visible and most importantly I read that the new coach wants a different type of player.

The bid from West Ham makes it convenient because most players would accept a move to London and it's a win-win.

Our forwards situation is still very dense remember; We have Matri, Menez, Lapadula, Niang, Luiz Adriano, Suso, Bacca and I don't know if anyone from the Primavera is stepping up. Plus Pjaca is a possibility.

We need to shed a lot of weight and probably come down to 4 or 5 forwards (if we're playing 4-3-3).

I'm still not convinced.

Last time I checked this man scored almost 20 goals, playing for a team with little creative force and idea. You made a list of our strikers, but failed to mention that 2/3 of the named players are completely useless. Don't tell me Montella is one of those coaches who doesn't pick regular strikers in his team. Look how that turned out for Germany yesterday.

Suso isn't a striker. Menez, Matri and Adriano are sub-par and should leave. This leaves us to one mid-age Serie B striker and perhaps Pjaca who's everything but a classic prima punta. To crack the various Chievo's and Cagliari's of Serie A, you still need that kind of a striker.

All in all - selling Bacca creates more problems IMO. And it solves little.

Kocacic yes, I already said that. However, I don't rate Valero that highly.



Agreed. Inter signed Milito when he was 30, we signed Pippo when ge was 30, Juve signed Tevez when he was 30 and so on. Look how those deals turned out. Age isn't always an issue. Bacca has shown that he can score 20 goals with little to no service. He's a really good striker and it'd be madness to sell him now.