I think we need a fresh start here.

We're back in the CL. There are some glaringly obvious holes that need to be filled in the squad

It's going to be an exciting summer. So what do you guys think should be the first moves to be made by the management?

My current wish list:

In case Hakan doesn't renew, sign De Paul. Maybe there are better options out there, but I can't think of a great AM that we can afford, and De Paul at least has Serie A experience. Plus I've always admired his combative spirit.

For the left wing, I want Depay. I read that with Aguero's signing and Koeman's possible sacking he's not a Barca objective anymore. He's a free agent, and his wage demands are within our range (I read he was going to earn 5M or something at Barca).

For the right wing, a bit controversial, but I'd like Berardi. He's a player I've always admired, and he just had a great season (17 goals and 8 assists). Another player I really like is Politano. Very, very underrated IMO. Obviously if better options present themselves then by all means go for it.

For the striker, we could either go for the obvious choices (Belotti, Vlahovic), or maybe sign a cheap option (I remember us being interested in Celtic's Edouard a few months ago), and then sign a marquee striker next season after Ibra retires.

Hakan is 99% out from what I'm reading. De Paul would be great but Udine are asking close to 40m for him... Not sure here. It's a lot of money and I don't know if our budget wold allow for it

Belotti or Vlahovic would both be great. Vlahovic imo would be the ideal signing. He has the time to understudy Ibra for a season. And it would relieve him of some of the pressure that the high transfer fee would put on him if he's not immediately pushed into being our main CF. But again, Fiorentina will want an arm and a leg for him. Belotti is someone I've always like but he's almost 28 and wasted too much time at Toro. The same can be said for Berardi tbh. Both have high probability of failing

I think for RW we have to look at explosive players who are quick and creative. I don't think there's anyone in Serie A who fits that bill tbh.

What do you guys think about Muriel and Zapata from Atalanta? Muriel has been amazing all season. Mostly coming off the bench. He's quick, skilful and can play LW and ST. Would be a cheaper version of Depay. And Zapata imo would be a perfect replacement for Zlatan

I like them both, but they're both 30. Besides, Muriel is more of a second striker. Yes, he can drift wide as well, but in a 4-2-3-1 you need energetic players who can backtrack in midfield all the time. I don't think Muriel can do that. As CF yes, definitely. Same for Zapata. But again, they're 30. I'd rather go for someone who can offer at least 4-5 years of top football.

The rumours around Giroud are becoming very persistent. I hope it's all BS because he's an insanely crap player whom I've never rated. His stats are appalling, and he's 35. Please Paolo, don't make the mistake.

Don't know if the right thread but conte leaves inter. So this is the financial impact which can be seen. I think there was an article which said inter get like 60 something million from tv rights as league winners and as compared with England sheffield united the 20th place team got 104 million

Wow, didn't know they were that old. Please disregard

Yeah. It's looking like Giroud is almost done. Disappointing to say the least. My main though here is they want someone similar to Zlatan but won't step on any feet. Obviously Giroud is a very poor man's Zlatan but he can do the basic essentials of what's needed in that CF position in our system. My thinking here is they probably want to put off spending big money on a CF until next summer. Especially with both Vlahovic and Belotti possibly becoming free agents...

Let's say we have a 150m budget. We already need to set aside 45m of that for Tonali and Tomori.

I'd extend Dias' deal for another year long loan with a possible buy option. We should do what we can to keep him at a good price imo

We still have some glaring holes to fill. Mainly AM, and RW. Plus we need proper rotation options that are not Krunic and Kalulu if we're seriou about CL next season and not embarrassing ourselves. Plus remaining competitive in the league

Dalot and Meite are going back to their teams. Imo, we need a proper RB and LB cover. We can't keep running Theo and Calabria into the ground. We need a replacement for Romagnoli who could be leaving as well. We need a proper cover player for Kessie and maybe another winger

We have lots of areas that need work. So I can see the logic in pushing the striker issue to the following summer while we still have Ibra tbh


Huge blow for the league in general imo

This is why I was pro super league. And cannot with the English fans who condemned it. English clubs are at a huge advantage over their, Spanish and Italian counterparts. Fans in England were protesting, but you didn't hear a peep out of the Spanish and Italian fans. And for good reason. And when I see Neville fake crying about ruining football, when he works for a corporation that helps create this imbalance, I want to bash his punchable face in

On Inter, it's obvious they were simply thinking short term. Especially last summer's signings put them in a huge hole. Conte is someone who is never happy, no matter what. Thinking of just Milan here though. This is a huge opportunity for us. Especially if Pirlo stays at Juve and Inter get Inzaghi

Giroid is Milan's striker for the coming two seasons.

He's coming for free once Chelsea are done with CL final.

Not excited, but he does bring experience which is something the team lacks.

I only read rumours regarding Giroud. Nothing concrete yet, but it's very likely that he may sign for us.

Reality check: besides being 35, the guy hasn't scored more than 10 goals in the league in one single season in the last 5 years, and in 12 years of professional football (not counting second division appearances), he's scored more than 20 (21) only once in 2012 for Montpelier. Appalling numbers! Why are we even considering this dud? Very disappointed with Paolo if his signing becomes reality.

I think he will be just a rotation player. 3rd option perhaps, he is more than goals, he's good at holding up play and I think he can be a success in Serie A tbh

There were rumours that we won't even sign Tonali.

Nesta on a Webcam interview: 'Donnaruma? What he did is disgusting he would have become a flag for Milan. To refuse an 8M salary at the age of 21 is disrespectful, what Maldini did is right. I hope he can return this team to its normalcy.'

Di Marzio: 'The will of this management is clear, they want to give Pioli a highly competitive team for next season's competitions.'

Looks like he's going to Juventus.

Link

PSG are sniffing around Milan, they have their sights locked on Theo.

Hope he remains. But if the club is presented with something substantial, could be a definitive sale.

The starters are not for sale. Let's change argument.

You've always insisted on this but how can you be sure.

I think if some ridiculous offers came in, everyone is on the table.

I'd only consider hearing offers over 50m for Theo though, anything les and it's not even worth discussing. Leonardo can f@ck right off! He's done us over one too many times now. There won't be an Ibra + Silva type clearance sale happening anytime soon

Nothing is certain in life, but I have faith in our management. They wouldn't weaken our team.

I'd consider only +70M offers for Theo. ManCity paid 65M for Cancelo, why should we accept less?

Apparently 2 years ago Boban offered to Donnarumma a renewal proposal for 8M, which was agreed upon (Raiola included), but Gazidis stopped everything because it was too much...

Heard it on some Italian football show.

If true this makes us look less innocent and more stupid. Gazidis especially, who isn't a fan/public favorite anyway.

Giroud is a proven good rotational option. Nothing special but he does the job IMO. If Leao leaves we should invest in another versatile striker/winger. We also need to fill the right wing position with another capable winger.

Rumors on Depay died somehow off.

De Paul is mediocre and uninventive IMO. We need someone more explosive and rhythm/flow giving.

Nah man, he's far from mediocre. Maybe he's not a true #10, and he might not have De Bryne's genius, but he's an excellent player. Dominant presence in midfield, he can dribble past opponents (which Hakan sucks at), and his passing is also very good.

I'm actually warming up to the idea of signing him.

Yes, 27 years, Udinese and Valencia experiences,... very promising.

Why do you always use this parameter to judge players? It means nothing. Watching him on the pitch, that's how you can determine a player's value.

I disagree. In this age and day it means much. But I agree. Watching him play is what is crucial. I've watched him several times and I don't see anything special. We sure need an upgrade to Hakan, and not just De Paul.

Han I usually agree with you but this time I must say it seems to me that you are not grasping reality. Reading your post one would conclude that this is a highly planned conspiracy against Serie A. But reality check - we're not in the 90s any more. Serie A lost it's appeal.

With Ronaldo leaving Serie A will fall back even further. The worldwide viewership is falling down rapidly. Even the French league has more viewers. The stadiums are in bad shape or falling apart. Fans and fan groups are problematic. Teams are unattractive, not competitive enough, lack true stars or youth. The results of Italian teams in the last decade are appalling. Zero trophies won, no interest in putting an effort to rebuild or restructure the league,...

No wonder Inter earned less then Sheffield. No, it's not a corporative conspiracy, it's just reality, marketing, economy and planning. Serie A are currently on the bottom, and this is deservedly so.

Let's sign Bernardo Silva or Bruno Fernandes. And maybe Jadon Sancho on the right. And Neymar on the left.

Oh, wait, what was that? We can't afford them?

Dude, we can't even afford De Paul for that matter (asking price 40M). Just who is this enigmatic upgrade to Hakan you're talking about?

I really don't get this part. How is the FA creating such imbalance?

I'm not an idiot. But since you mention Sancho - yes, we should definitively start operating like Dortmund and find ourselves a next possible Sancho. And not a already past his prime De Paul.

Good luck finding someone as good as Sancho. Dortmund's scouting is on a whole other level.

And De Paul isn't past his prime. He just became 27 this month. Atletico Madrid apparently also want him.

GdS: Milan set sights on possible De Paul alternative who could arrive from Russia for ?20m

What do you know about him, Fillipo? Croatian, 23, AM, best player of the Russian league this year. On YouTube he looks great.

As you noted I mentioned La Liga as well. Without Real and Barca that league is deader than Serie A.

And I never said that Serie A as a whole does not have self inflicted issues. Most of which stemming from residing in a country where bureaucracy is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Why are the stadiums falling apart? Because they are owned by the municipality and not the clubs. And clubs that have tried to do something about this are faced with a wall of resistance. The French league is even more on it's knees than Serie A. Aside from the language barrier, Serie A and La Liga are not as marketable as the EPL, that is inherently true. But to see people on Sky Sports (UK) lose their sh!t about the SL when they are a big part of the problem is what p!ssed me off the most about the hole thing. The English clubs backed out quickly because the big backlash was mostly coming from their fans and most of those clubs don't need the money anyway.

Same goes for UEFA really. They act all high and mighty about ruining football, when they have done nothing to control what has been going on for the past 2 decades now. Football was ruined along time ago. FFP helped to make the imbalance even greater. UEFA want to implement something like FFP which basically handicaps struggling clubs which don't have a multi-billion pound domestic deal to fall back on while continuing to empowering the richer clubs. Not to mention the BS with PSG and City. Who have continually bent the rules and never got so much as a slap on the wrist. While we were banned for a season.

Add to that, they have never done anything when it comes to salary caps and pulling the leash on these super agents like Raiola, who have become a huge nuisance. Look at what happened with Donna. Had rules been in place which would not allow agents to get anything above a certain percentage off of any deal. I don't think this would have happened.


Sky sports not the FA

That's easier said then done. That being said, I think we're definitely on the right path in this regard

We currently have players like Theo and Bennacer. Who we got for relatively cheap fees and are now worth big money. That's the path we'll have to continue to take. But again, it's not so easy to get on a roll such as Dortmund have. Obviously the scouting department has to be top notch, which is why we got Moncada in who is a highly regarded scout

Vla?ić has great potential, he would be a smart signing.

As for De Paul, let's wait and see. Maybe X-O is right and he turns out good. And yes Han, I also think we're on the right path.

I still think it's a much larger issue then just bureaucracy and municipalities. The league as a whole lost quality and reputation immensely. Your comparison with La Liga is completely off man. Firstly, Barcelona and Real are there, so there's no need to say "without them". Then there are concrete results: Sevilla won 3 EL, Villarreal won it this year, Atletico made 2 CL finals. Not to mention Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Good God, even Granada made it to the quarter finals. What are the Italian results meanwhile? Nonexistent. Two lost finals by Juventus and one by Inter in 10 years or more.

Used Google to translate this, but a very interesting development in the Donnarumma saga.



The full story was published in today's newspaper. The article is from Franco Ordine, in my opinion one of the best journalists in Italy.

In other words, Donnarumma is without a team, and nobody wants him. Perhaps not even Juve. Forget the Barca, PSG etc. rumours. They were probably fabricated by Raiola to put pressure on Maldini.

Interesting to see how this story develops. Because if Dollarumma ends up signing for less than what we offered then it's going to be one of the most epic fuckups in recent Italian football history.

Basically all teams habe pretty decent keepers. Juve currently already pay sczeny 7 million. No other team will buy him so it is difficult for them to jabe two keepers on such high salaries. Same kind of issues for other teams as well.

I read that our management has given Hakan a week as well to decide on the 4m offer. Otherwise he can goas well.

Mediaset - Olivier Giroud ever closer to Milan. The 34-year-old, fresh winner of the Champions League and called up by France for Euro 2020, is ready to say yes to a 4 million two-year contract. Milan therefore have discarded the Scamacca and Vlahovic hypotheses. Meanwhile Tomori has been signed from Chelsea and has signed until 2026.

I like De Paul. He's not an explosive player by any means, but he has a beautiful touch and great vision. He'd be an upgrade on Hakan in certain aspects for sure. Only think I'm going to miss from Hakan are his set-pieces. He's improved on them so much this season. I think we have the highest set-piece goal tally in the league iirc I read this somewhere on Twitter.


True. But the problem with Italian teams is that even when we had very strong 2nd tier clubs the EL/UEFA Cup was treated as something lesser. So performances in that competition aren't really much to go by. Obviously the big downfall in the CL coincided with both us and Inter taking a nap for more than a decade now. Napoli, Roma and Lazio were never good enough to compete at that level.

As for why Italian football has taken the hits it has. It's all linked. If the money is not there then obviously you don't have the pull to bring in the stars and without stars you're not going to attract the kind of deals needed to fend for yourself in today's football. Stadiums might not bridge the gap between what Serie A teams get compared to their English counterparts. But it would definitely give a huge push in the right direction. As you well know, your own stadium is a huge revenue stream for any club. Especially us, who have the advantage of being located in a metropolitan city that also brings with it the possibility of leasing the stadium for other events during the off-season


Honestly, wtf knows what he and Raiola have cooked up at this point.

I'm 100% convinced that they thought they would play Maldini like they did Mirabelli. drag this out for this whole summer and squeeze us out when the season is about to start and we're desperate

I saw some comments from Mirabelli dissing our current management. If I could I would slap this guy. It's partly his fault we're in this situation. That 6m contract was always too much


Yep.

Juve is probably his only option. I read that Ter Stagen is also on a huge salary. And I doubt anyone will want to pay that kind of money to Sczeny either so Juve would have huge trouble offloading him. And if Ronaldo is staying, no way they can afford to have another huge salary on the books

What about Chelsea? They can surely do better then Mendy and if the ship off Kepa..?

WE have the following players all returning from loans. What would you guys do with them?

Mattia Caldara
Tommaso Pobega
Diego Laxalt
Andrea Conti
Lorenzo Colombo

I'd personally keep Caldara and send Gabbia and Kalulu on loan this season. If we can renew with Romagnoli, having Caldara, Romagnoli, Tomori and Kjear as CB options would be very good imo. Caldara had so much potential. If only he could stay fit though

Conti and Laxalt need to be sold ASAP. Pobega and Colombo should be sent back on loan. Preferably both to Serie A sides.

I heard Mendy has been doing well.

I don't think Kepa is going to be easy to get rid of for them.

Anyways, we'll see. I'm sure Raiola will make something happen for him. As long as the commission money is there that is

Colombo is too weak for a Serie A side, hell he was too weak for Cremonese.

What good will it bring to sell Conti and Laxalt? Imo we can't get good money out of them, and by selling them we'll be back in the business of searching new rotational options for both fullback positions - in other words - new Conti's and Laxalt's.

Btw

@86_longo: Fikayo Tomori buy-back clause will be paid in more years. The English centre-back will be officially a Milan player very Soon with rightwards arrow above. Another amazing job from the duo Maldini-Massara.

Excellent. His transfer fee won't chip too much of our transfer budget. I read we're going to do the same for Tonali (I think we still have to pay about 25m for him)

Hmm. You want them to stay?

Mendy has been excellent for them. I've seen a few games myself and I've been impressed. They don't need Dollarumma.

I know that the club wants to ship Conti and Laxalt. Personally, I wouldn't mind keeping Conti. I've always felt that as a rotational player he's very decent. Laxalt is mediocre and should be sent away. Colombo will definitely leave on loan.

I'm on the fence about Caldara and Pobega. If fit Caldara could be a very decent fourth option, whereas for Pobega I keep hearing very positive things. Personally I'd keep him and sell Krunic.

Tonali was originally 10M loan + 15M right to buy + 10M bonuses, i.e. 35M in total. But now it's being reported that we're negotiating with Cellino to lower his demands, and there are good possibilities that he'll accept.

I'm rather optimistic on this summer's activity. That said, I wouldn't expect stellar signings, but rather add some experience and quality around the pitch.

How is the club going to deal with Laxalt, Conti Caldara, Pobega and Colombo. Combined they wouldn't fetch the club any noteworthy additions if sold. So I would keep one of them as bench fodder and the rest try to get them off the club's books.

It seems as though Romagnoli wants to renew with Milan, a good sign considering his contract will expire next summer. He would be a great option for the defence and keeping him on would instil stability in that department.

Much work is to be done for the wings and creative departments of the team, also a striker other than Giroud is very much needed. Could the Icardi rumours be true? If so, I am very excited for this one

Screw Icardi. He?s even worse trash than Dollarumma after his behavior at Inter. And Wanda Nara is worse than Raiola.

Gazzetta: Romagnoli to renew with Milan.

Tuttosport: Romagnoli has no intention of leaving Milan. He feels the responsibility of being a Milan veteran and the next would be the seventh season with the Rossoneri, with 266 games behind him.

Yet, Icardi is the best thing we can (probably) get. I think you're missing the point that we ought to bring in extra class, and in our position, this is something that comes with a prize: like Ibra who is old, or like Icardi who is problematic. We can't make a breakthrough by discarding all the Ibra's and Icardi's like you suggest and only bet on the De Paul's.

And yes, Dybala would be a dream. But I read Allegri counts on him.

What about Pjanić?

Good to hear this.

Personally speaking, I don't like Icardi as a player. Too one dimensional. But as I keep saying, we can't afford him.

Pjanic? Don't think he's an objective, and I don't think we need him.