Speaking of rumors, 7 names which comprise basically of Milan bench players .. the Milan new management want them gone. Milan are not disclosing whom they are, but my bed is the fodder will go this winter.

I'll take a shot at it:

1. Luiz Adriano
2. Keisuke Honda
3. Andrea Poli
4. R. Ely
5. L. Vangioni
6. M. Pasalic
7. J.Sosa (?)

The last one is a long shot, since we just got him in.

But yeah, I don't think these names have a future in the club. They'll probably be gone in the winter or the summer. I don't think a mass exodus will do us good. It will leave us with a very tiny squad.

1. Honda
2. Honda
3. Honda
4. Honda
5. Honda
6. Honda
7. Honda

He's got the awfulness of 7 players.

Fassone will fly to China tomorrow or more likely on Monday, where he will stay for a week and will meet Han Li, Li Yonghong and the sponsors. An objective of the Chinese is to further reduce the number of investors (currently 7-8), in order to increase the shares of new owners. The Chinese aim to close the deal between 18-22 November. But the closing will likely arrive at the end of November, or in the first days of December. Meanwhile Mirabelli is continuing to make contacts with other clubs. Then there will be a meeting with Montella to plan the January market. #GdS

#CorSport: Milan want Karim Bellarabi in January.

Milan are thinking about another Japanese player (as Honda is expected to leave), and are considering Shinji Okazaki of Leicester. #PremiumSport

Buh-bye!

And the last line is why he won't be missed

We might have quantity but we certainly don't have quality

Think it is healthy for both Milan and Galliani to part ways, especially specific to Milan. History will always be on his side as he was instrumental in making Milan the brand me and you know or knew.

Otherwise I couldn't care less to what happens to him in terms of his future and I am anxious to see what the new incoming management has in store for us



Where does the team sit on the table han? Let's be fair. Currently galliani is the go-to guy for this club and as such he has to comment such comments. Fiat's ceo talks about his cars as if they were Mercedes Benz or Ferrari but we all know it isn't. Same concept applies here.

Soon we will have a new ceo, and you expect him to comment on the team 'while in season' stating the team lacks quality or quantity? Or that this player is bad and whatnot?

A person in the arena will have different pressures and tactics than a spectator that is in constant 'tranquilized obviousness'.

Can't wait for him to get lost for good.

Galliani had his days, and as a Milan fan I truly appreciate what he has done for the team. Having said that, his last years have been a complete disaster, and it is time for him to leave (don't even understand his latest statements, does he really expect to keep running the club?). And, yes, we are third, but the problems in the squad are quite clear, and that's mostly his responsibility.

Well I agree that they won't tell you it's a sh!tty car but they don't try to tell you it's a Ferrari either, which Galliani has constantly tried to do over the years. Remember that "il club piu titolato al mondo" propaganda when we were already slipping down?

I think he still thinks this is the 80s and people are still gullible and believe what you tell them simply because you're the club CEO

I'm not saying that he should be slamming the players, but he should stop trying to take people for a ride when everyone can see that quality is gravely lacking in this squad and the fact that we're 3rd for right now has nothing to do with the individual quality of the players

This is him trying to toot his own horn, almost giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done in the summer. Forgetting the fact that he made an entire mess of the mercato just like he has done for the past decade or so barring a few good moves which were later reversed (Silva, Ibra)

We are linked to Bazoer. Any insight on the dude?

He turns out great on FIFA

Bowser?

Milan are interested in 20 year old Argentine talent of River Plate, Sebastian Driussi. #TuttoSport

A Bola: Milan were one of 20+ teams attending the Champions League game between Benfica and Dynamo Kiev to scout Benfica defender Lindelöf.

Fabrizio Romano: Milan and Ajax will schedule a meeting to talk about Bazoer before the beginning of the winter transfer window.

Fabrizio Romano: Bazoer has convinced everyone at Milan, even Montella. Ajax value the player at €20M, but Milan are waiting for the closing before a move. Milan must make a decision on whether to invest this money on the midfielder in January, or wait until the summer.

Mirabelli this weekend will be in Rome to attend Roma-Bologna. He will closely observe Leandro Paredes. #TuttoSport

Bazoer? Is he worth that money? Anyone seen him play?

I'd trust the the club did some scouting. If he will arrive then great, we need mids. If not then who would you suggest?

I would like Yaya as a personal preference.

I've seen him play in a few games I watched for Ajax last year. He is a strong physical player. Not a towering player, but strong and fast, a box-to-box with decent vision/ passing abilities. His physicality, and all- around ability remind me a bit of Seedorf. Although I wouldn't really describe him as a recessed playmaker, but a good player to round out the midfield.

He's pretty young with room to grow, I would be excited about this purchase. He won't push the needle in any category of the game, but he could be a good building block.

For me, Yaya is past it. Was always a quality player but between his wages and his age, I think I would prefer a player like Bazoer. If they want to spend the money on a bigger name, I would prefer Cesc or Schweini, either one of those two would bring great quality to the midfield and the team in general.

At least in FM 2017 he looks quite good

What's the argument here again? Isn't it obvious? We need both the Yaya's and the Bazoer's. Just remember van Bommel and how useful he turned out to be. We need seasoned leaders, players who can form a backbone to this youthful green team.

I'd prefer Serie A players, but sadly other then perhaps Marchisio (wildest dreams) I don't see a single midfielder that could join us and would be sufficiently good. We have to look elsewhere and try to sing players like Toure, Schweini, etc.

There were reports that Montella was after De Rossi.

I read that De Rossi told him he wouldn't be leaving Roma.

That is why I wrote WAS.

Toure and Bastian would bring in another set of problems that we're all quite familiar with now. High wages, most likely both past their best.

I think we should be looking elsewhere at this point if we really do have the money.

Cesc is one name I'd look at. I'd still like to see us try and push for a Kovacic or heck, even Isco, who's warming the bench at Real. If we have cash, why not go for an honest to god marquee signing to really make a statement. Players who are very experienced but not past their prime is the demo we should be looking at. We should avoid repeating the mistakes of the past in order to try and right those previous said mistakes.

Also, I still think a top CB should be on the agenda. Paletta is simply not reliable. He's a good player, but generally a loose cannon. He was a lucky decision away from getting another red against Palermo and giving them a penalty last Sunday. He just simply doesn't learn. Also, when he or Alessio are out we're in trouble as Gomez and Zapata are our only other options which is far from comforting

I don't get you Han. You say Toure or Schweini would open us up to problems with high wages but Cesc wouldn't?

Look, I don't think we can get past this wage issue. If we're gonna be big again we have to start by building on seasoned stars and splash money on their wages. The stingy wage politic won't bring us anywhere.

As for Kovačić, I think he solidified his position in Madrid and won't be moving anywhere.

And I gave a reason as to why it is 'was' and not as 'is'.

Don't forget FFP, which means we can't increase wages unless we also increase revenue (hopefully our new investors will help drive the latter). Part of our problems is that we have been carrying relatively high wages (relative to most other Serie A teams) on mediocre players.

Letting go of Mexes, Menez and the likes reduced the wage constraint. But its not enough, it just means the club has eased the pressure on a bloated wage budget. Today, as you so pointed out the club need to increase revenues, the sooner they do that, the sooner we can afford the players we all want. Otherwise primary focus is CL income and heavily marketing if Milan in Asian market. That said; they have 100M to burn through this winter. So I expect a reference point type of player arriving to kick start the new era. That said, our gate receipt should increase with interesting players coming in. And subject to our results continuing along these lines.

It's simple really, the former two are both way past their best. I was very in favour of the Schweinsteiger idea in the summer (we were desperate for someone like him and a lot was still uncertain). But now that we should have more readily available cash we should be aiming higher than players who are in the twilights of their careers who are big names and command high wages and basically have little left to give to this team. The latter on the other hand is still 29 years old and who I still regard as a great player who has a good few years left in him.

All three would come in with high wage demands, but if we're going to be paying a high wage, I'd rather it be on someone really worth it.

We've already gone through this countless times in the past, brought in players who are big names but are way past it, while paying them wages because of their big names and only that. It's part of the reason for our current problem and I would prefer it if we don't repeat those mistakes

I don't think cash will be as free flowing as we're all hoping for tbh. So that's why I believe we should really be careful when picking the so called bigger names that will be demanding the big wages. We need to make a couple of signings 3 of which should be big names. If my choices for the midfield were Cesc, Bastian and Yaya, I'd choose Cesc easily.


Isn't there some rule about clubs who are in the process of transferring ownership they're sort of given a "free pass" in the first year after the transition?

Still I think the Chinese will funnel in the cash through sponsors and not directly, which should have us covered on FFP


I think we have done tremendously well to really move a lot of baggage of that wage bill, there's still a lot of work to be done, because we still have players earning big money who don't deserve it but so far we're moving in the right direction compared to the obscene wages some of our players were earning to do nothing but be mediocre or sit on the bench

So you rate Fabregas over Schweini and Toure? That's okay, agreed. But the salary argument is still very questionable. It's simple for me: if we wanna succeed, we have to start building a team around WC players. Since we cannot afford nor lure players like Messi, heck even Thiago Alcantara, we should settle for second or third bests. But I think it's absolutely vital to sign one or two of these kind of players.

Now you say we've done it countless time in the past. I think your memory is tricking you. Perhaps the last three big has-been but classy players we signed were Ronaldinho, Robinho and Torres. All others - Alex, Essien, Boateng (2nd term), etc. never even were that good to begin with. Also, they never constituted that kind of key players.

That being said, I'd sign Fabregas in a heartbeat, but I think Montella doesn't want him, yes?

Also I don't understand this whole wage thing? What do you guys suggest? How can we improve and start making steps forward without signing better players -- who'll demand better wages? And don't you think we need some experience right now? This is not the Milan of the past, this is a much different, younger, greener Milan with virtually no one who's played past the CL group stage more then a few matches.

Montella's position re: Fabregas is interesting and may point to his limitations. Is he concerned about getting "star players"?

As for "the wage thing", my understanding is that we need to increase revenue before we can pay big salaries. As pointed out by Rossoneri7, that may happen relatively quickly after the closing, possibly in the form of sponsorship and/or by marketing the Milan brand in the Far East. However, it is a necessary first step. We probably also need to get rid of some of our mediocre players that are drawing relatively large salaries (still have some of those).

In relation to "has-beens", Torres was not that long ago and happened at a time where we were struggling financially (and could have probably found better ways to use the money).

No, so I think we space for one world class talent at around 7-10 million salary. Because we've chopped down our wage bill so much, there will be space to add that sort of wage.

I hear us linked to Schneiderlin, Depay, Caio,Mussachio and Lucas Lima. I really liked the look for Rodrigo Caio, great anticipation and positioning skills, though he had that Gustav Gomez tendency to rush forward. I think it's a S.American thing.

Schneiderlin might be a great move, unfortunately also risks cutting space for Locatelli- but I think it's fair to give Locatelli a taste of competition. Depay or someone like that I feel is very critical for us, because we need that wing forward. Right now we have no options for Niang or Suso if one were to be injured or out of form.

We'll have to see. I don't think Montella wants to buy too many huge players this winter window. Maybe we will land Milan Badelj.

--

I hope expectations are tempered though. Look, end of the day, we are a team that is currently overperforming. Our team is still Europe League class at best. We need to work from that perspective and not keep ambitions too crazy for the season.

Yes, we're overperforming, but other then Juventus and Roma, who do you think is CL class? Napoli? Lazio? Inter? Perhaps - but I don't see a big difference between us and them.

None of those clubs are performing at their best. True. But it doesn't mean they won't. So we're not halfway through the season yet.

I think if we finish in the top 6 (providing no major reinforcements are made in the winter), it would be a very creditable finish. To finish top 3, is a struggle. We will have to invest in 3 top class reinforcements for CB, Midfield and Wing. I don't see that sort of talent available. And I don't see why we should spend money to get B+ level talent, only for them to rot and stagnate us.

I don't understand why we should aim that low? Again, not based on performances, but taking a look at rosters of teams like Lazio or Napoli, I don't see anything special, anything much better. The only thing that they have is experience.

Therefore I'd take the risk, try get one or two WC players (I don't think Depay or Schneiderlin fit to that description) and make the assault for the 3rd place.

We will get good players this winter and if we reach CL then a CL worthy squad.

But it won't be without constraints. As FFP will have us cornered like that.

The problem is that it's the winter market, there aren't too many big stars out there for the grabbing midway through the season. The only name that is really circulating concerning top players is Cesc, and Montella doesn't want him for whatever reason.

I think we should target those players who have fallen out of favor and give them another shot to revitalize themselves here or go for proven Serie A players who can help up make a push. For me, Depay and Schneiderlin sound pretty good. I would also throw Bazoer and Caio into the list of good targets. At this point, I'm over the idea of Badelj coming. If it's the choice between bringing him in or continuing to play Locatelli, I think it's obvious where I stand. This team has continuity going for it. We are a scrappy underdog team, we should look to bring in players who fit that mentality.

There are also obvious dream players, Veratti, Berardi, Thiago Silva but I don't really see any of them coming here unless we are playing in the CL

Mirabelli is working on building the new Milan. The objectives are a defender, midfielder and a winger (Honda is leaving).
[Sky Italia]

Chelsea are ready to offer €60m for Romagnoli. Borussia Dortmund are interested in Suso. #CorSport

Well... Yes. Like I said, Fabregas still has a few good years left to offer while with the other 2 all the good years are now in the past which is why I think it's acceptable to give Cesc a high wage while I don't think the other 2 would be worth it.

Look, we've been doing this kind of signing for years now, you can look back all the way to Redondo and Rivaldo. It general y always tended to hurt us in the long run. And I'm not even saying that Cesc would be a full proof signing either, he could turn into another dud that weighs heavily on out wage budget doing nothing but warming the bench, I just this it's less likely with him, more likely with the other 2

Also, I agree with you that we shouldn't be signing players who can barely qualify as above average to good. We should be looking at better if we want to compete seriously. And I think we should have a much better mixture of young and experienced in the squad. I just think we should be a lot more selective when purchasing the experienced players to make sure they're not only just a big name, but ones that can truly make a difference. We can't be just jumping on the first big name we can land simply because of just that.


Yeah, we should set a budget for the big name players we want to sign. I don't think we'll be as willing to part with big amounts as we might think (hope) so the big signings we do make have to be spot on and we can't waste big amounts for players who would end up doing nothing of use for us.

Badelj would just be a cheap and easy stop gap solution, certainly better than what we currently have but won't really make a huge jump in quality for out midfield.


Agreed there


But I think we'll be working around that by funnelling money is through sponsors. I don't think there'll be a "sugar daddy" of sorts signing checks to buy this player or that


I disagree about look signing players who fit the mould of "scrappy". We should be looking at much better so we can make a jump in quality. If we're going to be signing more of the same (.i.e Galliani style signing), then I'd rather we stay as we are and let the current crop grow as a team


Well at least the correct positions are being looked at. For once we're not linked to a striker (which is always reason to celebrate at this club)


They can p!ss off.

I really don't understand the Chelsea link considering Conte totally snubbed Romagnoli this summer.

On the other hand, Fabregas never was or will be half of the player Bastian is/was. But yes, I get your point.

Redondo is a very bad example though. We signed him at his peak, but injuries ruined his career.

The difference is, back then we had plenty of experience in our roster, while additions like Amoroso or even Rivaldo were unnecessary. Now we need quality and experience. We signed Rivaldo to make up for Boban and Albertini. But it turned out so that Pirlo and a very young Kaka made a surprise blast and cemented their first XI position. But this wasn't expected. Nowadays a 31 year old Rivaldo, winner of the WC, would be more then welcome and surely would have a secured spot.

Surprisingly, a few interesting blog pieces up on Football Italia. Not the usual obvious stuff stretched out over 200 words.

Also an interesting interview with Mihaijlovic. He criticises Berlusconi quite a bit.

- He was forced to play a 4-3-1-2 because of Berlusca. He dropped it after the Napoli defeat and decided enough was enough.
- Romagnoli was considered too expensive by the management. He declared to Berlusca that if Milan sell him for less than the 25 MM they pay for him, he'd personally reimburse Milan the difference. But if they sold him for more, he would pocket the difference. Made a joke that last season Chelsea offered 60 MM.
- Berlusca kept insisting to play Diego Lopez over Donnarumma. Miha gave an ultimatum, that either he fire Miha or keep Miha and Donnarumma starts.
- Said the one person who helped him the most was Galliani and that he considers him a friend.
- Also mentioned his one regret as not being the coach when we played the Coppa Italia final against Juve. Insisted that we would have won with him on the bench.

A few interesting tidbits here.

In the past, yes. But currently? Bastian at his best won't be as good as Cesc at his worst.

They're both shite. Sell Romagnoli, buy Wilshere.

Well it's obvious Miha is still p!ssed off about last season and it's with good reason too

This basically confirms my theory that Berlu and Galliani have been in a little contest with each other to see who can find the next big name in coaching. It's basically The Apprentice: Coaching edition

We've seen this same sh!t being pulled from them on a regular basis now. Allegri was Galliani's pick so he did everything to defend him while Silvio publicly shamed him. And in the end Galliani had to fire him against his will basically. Then came Seedorf who Silvio wanted and Galliani didn't. Galliani had to practically have the pen pried out of his hand to allow Seedorf to sign that contract. And when Seedorf started criticising the transfer market deals and the quality he had on the roster Galliani nearly had a coronary. Galliani then jumped on the opportunity of the player unrest within the squad because Seedorf was hard on a lot of the players who then turned against him. So Galliani managed to convince Silvio that he wasn't the right guy for the job

Then came Pippo who was a combination of both Silvio and Galliani's idea (at least that's the feeling I have) who was a total and complete nightmare, but they allowed him to at least finish the season

And then came Miha, who was Galliani's idea and Silvio clearly didn't like him but went along with it. Thus ending up with Silvio petulantly firing him just a few games out from the end of the season while still in the EL places only to appoint Brocchi, who Silvio was heavily in favour of, and if it were up to him, we'd still be stuck with coach Brocchi

It's just disgusting at this point. And it's another reason why we should be celebrating this circus finally being about to come to an end.

Don't know if it was posted here, but Galliani has confirmed that these will be the final 3 weeks in his position as CEO (and everything else) of Milan


Agreed

We'll be paying a high wage either way. So I'd rather we pay that for someone who still has a bit more to offer. We should have tried to get Bastian earlier, he always indicated that he would have joined Milan if given the opportunity. Now I think it would just be a pointless move for both parties involved


DO IT!!!

Anyone saw the Italy friendly? Sell Bacca, buy Belotti?

More like Grumpy Old Men.

Yeah, Belotti looks like the read deal

Plus he's a Milan fan and won't act like a petulant child when things don't go his way like Bacca does. Or basically court any attention from clubs in the CL but when only WHU are interested he decides to stay.

I really want to see us selling Bacca this summer. He's not the type of striker we need, plus he's certainly not the personality we need in the dressing rooms.

Belotti would be a great buy, but he wouldn't come cheap. We'd basically have to put in anything we get from Bacca's sale (around 30m most likely - if that) and add another 10. Cairo has already slapped a 60m release clause in his new contract so we'd have to shell out above 40m for sure. Especially if he keeps scoring at the rate he is atm



On another note, Romagnoli has a muscle problem which he picked up yesterday, so if he's out, we're f@cked! And if it's something long term, we're double-f@cked!

This is why we cannot rely on keeping Donnarumma long term. I simply do not trust Riola.

In the end Donna will be the one who decides whether he stays or goes.

The important thing right now is to give him a good contract so we lock him down as soon as he turns 18. If we sell him in the future that will give us the upper hand when negotiating

That being said, WE (as in the club) shouldn't be the party pushing for the move to happen, if we're going to continue being a selling club then we'll know that this sale was fruitless. We need to be able to resist any and all offers as long as the player wants to stay, we shouldn't be trying to manoeuvre for a sale because of a huge cash injection

For now I'm not worried. Raiola (love him or hate him) generally just looks out for his client's best interests. If they want to stay he makes sure they have a great contract and if they want to leave he'll make sure they go to the best option for them and for him

Raiola won't push Donna to leave, if Donna leaves it's because it's his choice, and we all know you can't keep a player that has his heart set elsewhere. And should that situation arise we better make sure to get a record deal for him.

Also, just think back to the Zlatan situation, Raiola wasn't the one who pushed for the move even though it would benefit him a lot financially. Galliani was the one pushing Ibra out against his will. Raiola was willing to do as Zlatan decided. And when a move became inevitable he made sure to negotiate the best deal for his client.

I agree we should try to keep him, and that includes giving him a good contract as well as not putting him on the market. However, I do not share your optimism relating to Raiola. Yes, he will work in the interest of his clients ... to a point. I believe he makes most of his money on transfers, so you have to expect him to be nudging his clients in that direction whenever he can.