Rumors have been circulating about several transfer targets:

Priority: a CB to replace Kjaer.
Subsequent: a Diaz alternative, either bring back Adli or sign Faiver from Brest.

In any case, both positions are a must IMO, Milan lacks an outlet to create upfront and lacks solidity in defense. Though Kjaer is good enough for the next three years, his injury and Romagnoli?s renewal saga prompts Milan to look elsewhere in urgency. While upfront, more than a striker Milan needs a a pace maker someone who can create chances for the forwards.

Think this window will make or break Milan?s season and my favorite for this winter are both Adli and Rudiger.

Not a fan of winter transfers but Kessie seems destined to be on his way out to either PSG or an EPL club (Tottenham have been rumored).

If Milan manages to sell Kessie and Castelejo then a nice sum would allow to fund for a good AM and CB, I would think.

Ps Conti should be released of his contract, not worth the wait here.

Can't see us managing to sell Kessie in January

Rudiger is most likely on his way to Real next summer as a free agent. We're being heavily linked to Botman from Lille

Botman would be a dream. He's very highly rated, and I like what I've seen from him on YouTube. Very physical but also fast, which cannot be said for Kjaer and Romagnoli who are rarther slow players.

But I don't see Lille selling him in January when they have the CL and especially I don't see us forking 25-30 million in January for a CB.

I think we'd be willing to pay that if we believe in him enough

Past deals have shown us that if the management value a player to be worth that money, they will pay it. It's what we did with Leao, with Tomori and with Tonali

Tomori, Tonali and Leao were signed in the summer. It's different from a financial reporting perspective.

After Kessie?s showing against Napoli, id definitely work on selling him. The man?s head isn?t 100% focused on Milan, its clear he has doubts.

I hope Maldini/Massara are working diligently to offload him. He was a reference point (and still is for this team, but) lost all the goodwill he had carried forward from last season.

His mistakes with Milan are very clear, at times I thought he was in favor of Napoli?s win. Also in the CL, his head is definitely not here.


Wherever he goes, he will undoubtedly be a top player. But considering the circumstances, its not working out.


I would love Sanches from Lille as a replacement.

Kamara is on the market this January (his contract expires in June and is not willing to renew).

Not sure if Kessie will depart this January, but Kamara can play as CB and so does seem like the best choice abailable considering Kjaer?s injury and Kessie unwilling to budge from his astronomical demands.

Kamara would be great. I don't why we're not pursuing him any further. The press hasn't been linking us with him anymore.

One player I think we should sign ASAP IMO is Davide Frattesi of Sassuolo. Has anyone been following him this season? The kid is destined to become a great. The sheer class and quality are too evident. If we don't sign him now he'll end up costing 40M like Barella when Cagliari sold him to Inter.

Anyway, as far as rumors for January go:

The main target remains Botman of Lille. The club wants a loan with right of purchase, but I see no reason why Lille would accept such a foolish deal especially since they've got the CL to play in February. They value him at 30M. (Fiorentina just signed Jonathan Ikone from them for a total of 22M).

Cairo said the chances of Bremer leaving are nil.

Conti and Castillejo are destined to leave. Conti might sign for Empoli. Genoa are interested in Castillejo, though he would prefer a return in Spain.

I've also read the names of Beto (Udinese) and Kolo Mauni (Nantes) for the CF position. Beto is a very interesting prospect. Kolo Mauni I have no info about, but his overall stats are terrible.

What I don't get is why we are so hot for Botman or a serious CB now. Because even with Kjaer out we have still Romag, Tomori and the solid Kalulu plus Gabbia (utter garbage). I'd rather spend bigger elsewhere and sign a filler player for CB then splash money on Botman and sign improvised offensive options.

Also, when Kjaer returns, that would mean we would have 4 good or very good CB's fighting for just 2 starting spots. I mean it's a good situation but something teams like City or Chelsea can afford.

Maybe Romagnoli won't renew, maybe Kjaer won't return at high levels anymore (his injury is very serious, plus he'll be 33 in a couple of months). Botman would be a top signing and having him and Tomori would secure our CB pairing for the next 10 years (unless we sell them for some crazy money).

Anyway, Maldini said today before the match that Botman is good but there are other good defenders out there. The newspapers also reported that Elliott has given the green light for his signing. So we'll just wait and see.

For the attack, if we don't have any injuries, and with only the league to play at this point, the players we have could be sufficient. I say 'could', because I still think we need a quality RW and a quality CF. But I guess that's going to be an argument for the summer.

We need another creator. Diaz won't suffice. Today he had a good game, but he's not sufficient.

Also, Florenzi is a very good signing. He's impressed me at right fullback. He's probably more balanced then Calabria.

My point there was that the club is not so cheap when they believe in a player. If they think he's worth the asking price, they will pay it. January/Summer doesn't matter in this regard


Florenzi has slowly worked his way into this team. I still prefer Calabria for the RB as starter. But Florenzi is an excellent option to have. Plus he's versatile so can help out in multiple positions


And I agree re your point about signing a filler CB and putting the budget towards a creative attacker

And we're doing the summer mercato all over again.

Taking ages to make a move, losing important time on unrealistic targets (financially), not being able to secure players with contract extensions either. Unbelievable.

It's embarrassing and offensive to the fans. To have such an emergency and on 17 January still with nothing...

According to Gazzetta, we're trying to sign last minute Ndombele and Alli from Spurs.

This is proof that journalist have no fucking idea what they're writing anymore, because any journalist worth two cents should know that with Lazetic's signing we have no more non-EU spots available, and Dele Ali, lo and behold, is non-EU.

He is? How?

Brexit?

Oh, hell... yes...

January 31st, back in the day this is when a Mr. X would be unveiled Back in the day

Today is that same day, and I am gutted that no defensive reinforcement had come in ... Is it because Milan don't have European commitments? Hence a Kalulu/Tomori - Romagnoli pairing suffices? Maybe it is because the club had lined up an alternative to Ronagnoli for the summer, and have budgeted for that accordingly?

The only move the club made was for a young striker, maybe the team does need that. But I feel an AM/RW is the type of player Milan need. Then again, the club's cashflow has not been regular with stadium closures ongoing and the future outlook for stadiums looks uncertain, as such could it be the club can not afford to onboard someone midway through the season? Sustainably, I doubt the club can afford.

forget buying players, we cannot even sell players I mean two consecutive windows and we couldn't sell samu.

Because nobody wants to spend money on a useless player like him. Another signing of Leonardo that proved to be a complete failure.

This signing window was a complete disappointment but we all saw it coming. What makes it annoying though is that we saw others make great deals and strengthen their squads while we just stood watching.

That being said, if not spending now means a bigger budget in the summer then I am OK with it.

I think it means just that.

Yet I am very pessimistic because the same patterns happen over and over again.

We're very slow in the market, taking time and time while everything should have been prepared earlier. Losing Donnarumma, Calhanoglou and now Kessie and Romagnoli for free is unprecedented. I can't remember a big team losing so many key players or starters in two consecutive rows for free.

Contract negotiations are being dragged for months. Pioli is a genius for creating a good team atmosphere, because frankly without him, this team would have been in shambles. Players are being tired with relentless contract negotiations and stingy budgetary projections. I see less and less players talk with positive zest or real optimism towards Milan and the future.

Ibrahimovic will probably be let go. I know many of you here don't think he's up to it anymore and that his constant injuries mean his body is giving up on him, but if we lose him we lose immensely much in team spirit. And there's always a few extras like against Roma that only he can pull out. Even at an advanced age, he's mentally and in terms of talent a WC player we simply cannot replace with just another quick or strong hotshot youngster.

The stadium question is being dragged as well and seems to be happening later rather then sooner.

All this makes me think we're heading in the wrong direction.

Pippo, Zlatan is more than a player for Milan. He is a reference point, a leader and a player/coach ? since his arrival Milan was able to claw back lost ground up the table to finish in CL territory. It seems very likely he will retire after this season, as his body cant take it anymore, but I hope he sticks around in a different capacity to instill the same spirit you were referring to.

With regards to letting players/first-teamers contracts expire, it is most likely to do with the clubs budget ? it is leas painful on the finances to let them leave than sign them on a big contract. It would be better if Milan sells them all for profit, but that is not the case. I.e. keeping Kessie on his existing contract till maturity is cheaper than renewing it at a higher fee, likewise for Cala and Donna.

Scaroni (the clubs president) stated that this is the model of the club now, whereby relieving Maldini and Massara of any blame on this regard. Now is this the way forward? How is the club going to convince Botman, Sanchez or whomever they plan on bringing, then that will be a question for the summer.

But it is essential to keep Zlatan, even in a different capacity, as his presence in the locker room and around the training ground is worth every cent of his contract.

That really depends on what the "direction" is. If you tell me it's to become title winners again with this current ownership, then definitely we're headed into the wrong direction. But if it's to build a sufficiently competitive team to stay in the top spots for n-consecutive years with controlled spending while looking for a buyer, then I think management is mostly doing a good job.

The Bosman losses are definitely a blow, but when you realise that Elliott has set a specific salary cap, then what can Maldini do? He's simply following company policy. Like I said in a previous post, one-off items of expenditure (like gains from player sales) become irrelevant when there's a business acquisition. Surely, a fresh injection of cash from said sales would benefit everyone, but liquidity is not a main concern right now as is containing expenses. You get what I mean?

Anyway, this is just conjecture from my part. It could very well be that we're being poorly managed and everything will go down the shitter sooner or later. The only thing I'm certain of is that Elliott doesn't care about this club, they only care about making a profit.

Rumors that we've set the objective of signing Botman and Renato Sanches in the summer to replace Romagnoli and Kessie. There are advanced talks with their respective agents but no negotiations have been initiated with Lille yet. The idea is to reach an agreement before June, kind of like with Maignan.

It kinda sucks that most of our budget will be spent to replace two departing players for which we'll be getting nothing in return. I'm mostly worried that once again we'll neglect our attack, which is in dire conditions.

Very true

But both Sanches and Botman are theoretically upgrades on the departing players

I still think we should just renew Romagoli's contract. 3.5m is a fair ask imo. Botman is a good player but Romagnoli has been a good servant to this club and given consistency, he will perform at a high level. Plus, as you said, that frees up the 30m we're supposedly putting away for Botman to be spent on the attack

Let's not forget we also have Adli already wrapped up for next season so he'll be coming in as well. Not to mention Pobega.

Ideally we send back Bakayoko and sell Krunic. Having a midfield of Bennacer, Tonali, Pobega, Sanches and Adli imo would be an improvement on our current roster, much more versatile as well.

For the attack, We just have to finally solve the RW issue imo. For the AM position I'm slightly on the fence and all indications I've seen ragrding Adli is that he plays that position as well as CM so AM might not be a priority for the management at that point. But RW and CF have to be addressed this summer for sure

Adli plays primarily AM at Bordeaux, but in his current system Pioli demands an AM that attacks the area very often (Brahim). Adli is more of a playmaker.

If we indeed do get Sanches, I'd be for switching to a 4-3-3 with Bennacer-Tonali-Sanches in the starting midfield, and the various Adli, Pobega, Brahim etc. on the bench. Brahim might be utilised when we need an extra offensive push in the second half. After all, he's usually devastating when he comes off the bench.

Why are you all so sold on Sanches?

Because he's good, very good. I don't care if he's failed previously, or if it's just the French league. My only problem is related to his physical condition. He gets injured way too easily and frequently, and that's the kind of player we should avoid at all cost. So, I'm still on the fence.

Theo will sign an extension soon..

Botman's agent was also present at San Siro last night, and today he met with Maldini.

Theo's new salary will be 4.5M plus bonuses. Official announcement should come tomorrow.

Bennacer will follow after, new salary will be 3.2M (double of what he currently earns). We'll also remove the 50M release clause on his contract.

Leao will be the last to renew.

It makes me wonder, does Kessie with his 8M demand really think he's so much better than Theo, Bennacer and Leao? Because not only he's a far worse player, but asking for such a foolish amount almost sounds like an excuse and he just wants to leave.

And to be honest I'm very glad he will leave. His performances have been garbage this season. As Han said in an earlier post, he's had 1 good season out of 5. That doesn't make you a top player, and it certainly doesn't make you a starter for a scudetto challenging team. Fu*ck this guy.

I really don't think we'll switch the formation. The double pivot system works for us, especially with the players we have. Adli is seemingly a playmaker, but he can either play in the AM position or in the double pivot according to what I've read about him he's played both position, although you are correct that he's primarily playing as an AM this season

Sanches is also a very versatile player. He can play the double pivot or he can play in that AM position.

Obviously all these guys will interpret the role differently. Sanches imo is mostly box-to-box and while it would probably suit him more to switch to a 4-3-3. Bennacer and Tonali are currently our best mids and are thriving in this system, especially Bennacer who really struggled in his first few months with us playing in a 3-man midfield

We'll see, but potentially having a midfield line-up of Bennacer, Tonali, Sanches, Pobega and Adli is very exciting to me.


Because he's a top quality player. He's been immense at Lille, he literally toyed with our midfield last season at San Siro. He made the step up too early, now he's ready. You can't hold that over his head indefinitely. He'd bring in quality and versatility to our midfield as well and would be a step up on Kessie


His injury issues the only worry for me as well

We could always be conservative and try to seal a deal for Kamara (depending on whether some EPL side wants him of course). But Sanches is a far more exciting option imo


Great work to lock in all these players on long-term deals and for very reasonable salaries as well

Kessie just strikes me odd. I read that he doesn't even have any offers better than Milan's atm. Which makes no sense.


I'm over Kessie, but he'll be another regret of not getting a transfer fee for him, not to mention there's the possibility of him doing a Hakan and going to Inter or Juve, which would be a new level of snake worse than Hakan considering all the BS he spouted while at the Olympics

Apparently Barca were interested, but then back out due to his salary demands.

I'll quote you on this one:

"Kessie is simply making a fool of himself at this point. The whole world is watching and I'm enjoying it. Serve the prick right."



His relationship with us is over imo. This management deals with things quite strictly. I bet the replacement is probably in the works. I just hope we will be able to get some money going in, I feel Maldini can do so much with some more input.

Theo's announcement is official finaly we have extended a contract for a change

Wait, so we CAN renew contracts!

Well, all jokes aide, we renewed Calabria, Alexis, Pioli and a few others in recent months

Bennacer and Leao are next with Nicolo Schira who is pretty reliable saying Benna's is done and Leao's is almost there as well

I don't think it's a coincidence though that we've basically purged all the players who were brought in under previous managements in less than 3 years. These renewal will be a clear sign of where this management want to got with their project.

Once again, Only regret here is that we're about to purge a total of around 150m worth of transfer fees for absolutely nothing. Which is a big shame. Because that kind of money in Paolo's hands would have taken us very far

Indeed. We should have applied the policy that if you don't renew at least one year before expiry then you're automatically on the market. Kessie should have been sold this summer. With all the English clubs interested in him, we could have easily gotten, what, 20-25M? And we could have spent that money directly for Sanches.

Still can't get over his Olympics statements.



I mean, WTF?!

Think its the bigger picture here, renewals that fit within the budgets will be tendered. Those who demand something astronomical to the club?s economic capacity will not be entertained (as it will become a snowball which will engulf more players demanding the same). Imagine if Milan had caved in to Dollarumma and Kessie, do you honestly think Theo would accept the contract terms he had just signed?

The bigger picture here is of a sustainable Milan, and I like the approach the management is taking. Zlatan is not the exception to the rule, but what he brought in was not just a kick of the ball or goals, what he brought in was a team spirit and dedication in training. So that said, if you are able to offer more than what is within your job description to the club and the team then you will be valued differently.

This new Milan taking shape has no room for those like Cala, Dollar, Kessie and to an extent Romag.

I agree there. We can't just give in to all the demands, even though we were going to give Donna 8m (!!) which thinking back on it now with Maignan playing for just a fraction of that, would have made that a terrible deal. Donna might be a generational goalkeeper, but no keeper is worth that kind of money. Especially not for us when that can fund 2 important renewals for outfield players

The Chalanogu situation was different imo. The difference between what we were offering and what Inter eventually gave him was apparently less than 1m. Hakan felt like he was not wanted by the club, he was abused on social media by our fans on a daily basis as well, basically for the entire time he was with us. I personally can't stand him, but I think management were just not that into him either so didn't make any extra efforts.

With Kessie we know the management have been willing to go over what they are offering the others. But he's being a prick and I'm sure him an his agent smell sign on bonuses and commissions coming their way as well. The rumours now linking him to Barca make absolutely no sense. He's just spent 5 years in re-build limbo and is willing to go to another similar situation, just when we're really starting to get out of said limbo. Just a dumb move all around as he doesn't really suit their style either

For Romagnoli. Again, I think this is another situation similar to Hakan. I think the management are just not making the extra effort with him. They've put the 2.8m on the table and they've basically tagged on a take it or leave it notice. Fassone and Mirabelli obviously made a fatal error with his contract, basically just like with everything else they did. He has not really performed up to the standard of a 6m per year player either for a while now. And with rumours about Botman being as they are, he's mostly being pushed out rather than the other way around as he's willing to take a cut, just not that big a cut

I read Milan-related articles very often with regards to our summer objectives, but nobody, and I mean nobody ever mentions any RW names. It's like that area of the pitch is completely forgotten by everyone: management, journalists, even fans. Am I the only nutcase who thinks we CANNOT be competitive with Saelemaekers and Messias in such a fundamental position?

Everyone is obssesing about Botman, Renato Sanches and the eventual new CF, but man it irks me to no end how we're never linked to a RW!

I'm more excited about the potential Sanches signing. Botman will be a great addition, but with the rise of Kalulu and Kjaer coming back, the CB position is not that pressing. Sanches will take our midfield to the next level imo.

We can use him in the AM position rather than a Kessie replacement, Bennacer, Tonali, Pobega, Adli and Yoko will be enough in the holding role with Sanches dropping in as needed. Also, I wouldn't discount the possibility of going for a flat 3 mindfield if we get him as x-off so rightly pointed out a few weeks ago. I was against it, but it was basically how we lined up against Napoli and I thought it allowed us to really control the game better. Plus with such concentration of quality being in the midfield area it would make sense to play 3 mids rather than 4 attackers when we only really have Leao as an outlet at this point.

Took me a while to figure out who this mysterious Yoko is.

Last I read he'll be sent back to Chelsea in the summer one year early.

It is going to be an interesting summer. Dont think it will depend on securing the scudetto, but qualifying to the CL will be a prerequisite to getting the players in.

Im rather impressed with Kalulu as well, but Botman will be a straight replacement if he comes. Being protoganists in CL and Serie A will require more depth/quality and both Sanches and Botman provide that.

Then there is the forward position; with Giroud and Zlatan staying on, dont think there is room for another. Unless Zlatan retires then the club will be on the market for someone notable. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but then again with Zlatan retiring the club will have ample room to accommodate for that striker.

I'm throwing curve balls at you left and right lately. Just to keep you on your toes

You really think he'll be sent back? I know Pioli doesn't seem to trust him, but he is an added body should the need arise. Especially considering or injury record.


There have been rumors floating about Belotti potentially signing. Just not that sold on the idea. I think we need a more complete/mobile striker for our set up. Obviously Belotti would be free and on relatively low wages. So it's an easy solution which would allow us to concentrate the funds on other areas.


Botman will be a replacement for Romagnoli. And I think we'll have to start considering Kjaer's future as well depending on how he recovers from his injury. So yeah, he'll be a good investment for the future.

For me. the perfect mercato would be

In:
Botman
Sanches
RW
LB backup for Theo
Adli
Pobega


Out:
Ballo-Toure
Samu
Krunic
Gabbia (Loan)
Messia (don't redeem)

Ibra want to stay and I think the management want to give him the final year as he is still of value to this team, maybe not so much on the pitch anymore, but certainly as part of the dressing room


With all the quality we'll have in the central midfield areas, we could eaily play an inverted 4-3-3, with Sanches slightly ahead of Bennacer and Tonali.

Belotti is too underwhelming and won't solve anything. He's reached his max potential, maybe even started to decline now. We shouldn't justify his signing simply cos he's free.

Zlatan and Giroud are OK for backups, but we need a top class CF. Someone who can guarantee us at least those 20+ goals per season. We haven't had one since 2012 Zlatan.

Then there's the whole RW issue as well, which in my opinion is even more relevant.

And there's replacing Romagnoli and Kessie.

Overall, we should be making 4 quality signings. It's fundamental if we want to remain competitive and make that much needed step ahead in terms of quality. And to get there we need a 100m signing campaign. There's no other way. Botman and Sanches alone won't cost less than 50m.

No idea who our management has in mind for the attack

For the other positions, I'd take Florenzi as LB alternative. His redemption is set at 4.5m, I hear we wanna lower it to 3m. Adli and Pobega will provide much needed depth in midfield. So, let's focus on quality over quantity this time around. And get rid of any excess baggage.