Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

No,but it will.

Manchester would win any bidding war for Higuain , if it came to that..

I know you implied Manchester , obviously they most likely would have a striker even though they have strikers already , but since they didn't sign Falcao.. Higuain tho? Not sure why they would go for him .

Depay , Rooney and Van Persie , Mata too .. who knows who else they get. Surely they would like that lad Kane too. Not sure why they would spend 50-60m euros on Higuain , will they just bench Van Persie for the entire season? It's too complicated . And why not invest that on Kane , surely it would make more sense for Yanited.

To conclude , i do agree Yanited is the only club that would actually win a bidding war for Higuain , even for 60m.. but does Manchester-Higuain make sense as things stand?? To me , it doesn't actually. And in any case , wouldn't there be some heavy rumours if a move of this sort was on the cards for them , you would expect serious buzz about it.. i'd say even before the summer , but there doesn't seem to be anything really.

And in any case , for that kind of money , Manchester would most likely preffer Kane , no? And i still don't see how and where Higuain would fit at Manchester , it's not just the money. United could buy almost any player if it was just the money.

Van Persie is old on the decline and they cant rely on him as evidenced by the past yr or so.
They lack a frontline CF apart from RVP and that Wilson kid.
Depay is a winger.That doesnt stop them from going for a proper CF.

i meant where are they going to field all of them , lol i know their players well enough .

Obviously Van Persie is growing older , but that doesn't mean any of the two will accept a bench role , or that Yanited will spend 60m euros to have Higuain play half a season .

I really don't see United getting involved with Higuain , but let's see. Higuain may as well stay at Napoli for all we know.

According to RO, Pool are pursuing a striker, this means that they won't target Kovacic. Also, Inter are close to signing Imbula, as well as Salah. Inter demanding 30m for Kova, which i don't mind, but will they sell to a direct rival? Highly unlikely

http://www.football-italia.net/68267/napoli-%E2%80%98%E2%82%AC94m-higuain%E2%80%99

“Napoli are keen to clarify certain articles, published in some newspapers, about the departure of Higuain,” the statement began.

“The official clarification from Napoli is the following: there is a clause in Gonzalo Higuain’s contract. The clause is €94,736,000.

"There have been no bids. Anyone who wants the player will have to pay the club that amount."

And no logic was found that day .

gtfo here , 94.736.000 ? No wonder why we didn't see Higuain's agent shopping him around

Well that settles that.

I'm far from convinced that Higuain isn't obtainable for far less than 94 million however it would surely require Gonzalo to kick up a fuss and for a strong offer from a Champions League side to arrive. Could he force a move to Milan if it was his heart's desire? Of course and De Laurentis is a shrewd enough businessman to realise when it is better to sell but a comment like this to my mind demonstrates that they remain committed to keeping him despite Benitez' departure. If he is to leave it will be once they've secured any desired replacements for Sarri's project. I personally don't think anyone other than Callejon will leave for the record nor do I think Sarri will dogmatically enforce the 4-3-1-2 on the squad. Napoli's great strength is their attack and the flexibility they have up front. Sarri will no doubt want to repair their midfield and control games in a manner Benitez never did when up against comparable teams but to dismantle their attack? I'm not yet convinced. Callejon's been preparing to leave for a long time, I don't see it a a sign and particularly not for Hamsik's departure. He puts up with more nonsense in a year at Napoli than most footballers endure in a career and yet he's remained loyal for so long. Saponara had a great few months upon his return to Empoli but you don't cast aside a long suffering servant and captain like Hamsik for him, particularly when Marek can drop into a deeper position even.

Actually , if Sarri is indeed a poor man's Sacchi .. he could actually play 4-2-3-1 with Napoli . Won't be the same as Benitez , not so offensive especially if Callejon does leave , but it would be dynamic with a more secure defence .

I've said this before countless times , the people who say 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 are similar don't understand shit about tactics . The 4-2-3-1 is the new 4-4-2 and if there's any formation the 4-3-3 is similar to , that's the 4-3-1-2 . Depending on his players , surely there's a very good chance Sarri continues to play 4-2-3-1 , in fact my money would be on that actually.

As for Higuain , i am sure the dude would entertain the idea to play elsewhere , but if that's true and there's such a clause in his contract.. it will be very difficult to force himself out. It could be done .. but he will have to pull certain strings that can be undone after . I don't see him willing to tarnish his reputation and face in Napoli .

In other news :

Tuttofraud reports Witsel rejected us , media in Belgium insist this is a done dealio , Zenit's president says there's no offer

I guess the news that came out after the Kondogbia and Martinez failures were true afterall. #Silence . TBH , he works better alone and in silence really.

You don't need more than a phone and some privacy to secure the likes of Baselli and Jose Mauri

De Jong has renewed until 2018 - great news.

M’Baye Niang has signed a contract extension with Milan until June 2019 after his loan spell at Genoa.

“I’m with the Rossoneri for another two years,” wrote the 20-year-old on his Twitter account.

“I am very happy. Thanks to Milan for having faith in me, I’m always proud.”

The striker joined Milan from Caen in August 2012, but didn’t score a single Serie A goal for the club.

It was during a six-month loan at Genoa that he really burst into life, finding the net five times in just 14 games for the Rossoblu.

His contract had been due to expire in June 2017, but tonight Niang added another two years to that agreement.

It's also being reported that we are trying to sign Luiz Adriano on a pre-contract to join in January, which may persuade Shakhtar to accept a lower fee now rather than lose him for free in six months.

We're reported as offering 14 million for Romagnoli by Il Giornale. We can expect it to be rebuffed but from here we'll see just how determined Roma are to hold onto him.

It's also reported by Tuttosport that Llorente's agent has offered him to us but we aren't acting on this proposal currently. Hopefully we won't in the future, either.

dostoevsky wrote:We're reported as offering 14 million for Romagnoli by Il Giornale. We can expect it to be rebuffed but from here we'll see just how determined Roma are to hold onto him.

It's also reported by Tuttosport that Llorente's agent has offered him to us but we aren't acting on this proposal currently. Hopefully we won't in the future, either.

Unless Garcia guarantees him a place next to Manolas , there's a good chance a transfer may happen this summer . I don't know if it will be to Milan , because apparently Romagnoli is apparently already thinking about the Champions League , but yeah , if the right offer came , Roma will probably consider selling him . Again , that's if he finds no guarantees from Roma .

TBH , if Roma really wants 20m , we should pay the price and take the risk . We know Mihajlovic trusts him , he would be a regular from day 1 at Milan. But let's see , somehow i don't see this happening either way .

Gabriel has also extended until 2018, which I think is good. But with Abbiati extending, I think the best option for him would be to go out on loan again (Carpi are in Serie A now, hopefully they pick him up again).

Rami sold to Sevilla . Wish him good luck , unfortunate it didn't work out for him at Milan . He'll surely be great for them.

According to Sky, Zenit are asking 40m for Witsel, Milan deem that amount too high but will try a lower offer.

What alternatives do you guys have in mind in case Witsel is out of the picture? There's always Cabaye, rotting at PSG's bench, though i dunno if they want to sell now that their ban is lifted. At his best he was a NT starter and a great midfielder. There's also the option of Jordy Clasie, NT player, relatively young, could be an inexpensive option as well.

Bacca is official!

And I agree with our management on Witsel. 40m is definitely crazy, considering the fact that he has never played in a one of the big leagues and has been playing in Russia for the last three years.  We could probably go for someone like Eriksen for a lower price.

Bacca to Milan!
Can't wait to see him play for you guys!

Now questions what other signings/promotions/etc are in the works for you guys? Should we expect an overhaul or a couple of key signings?

Welcome to the club, FalcaoPunch!

Most of us expect quite a few new signings. At least one more striker is expected arrive, quite possibly two, another significant midfield purchase in addition to the probable arrival of Mauri and at least one defender - we're currently most strongly linked with Romagnoli.

I would personally prefer us to pursue different profiles in the market as I fear that Bacca will be deprived of service as Destro was however simply playing under a proper coach once more should do a lot to improve the performance of the squad. It will be interesting to see how Bacca does under Mijhalovic though. He's unlike any of the forwards he favoured at Sampdoria and I can't recall him using a poacher at Fiorentina either.

We have apparently agreed terms with Luiz Adriano to move to Milan in January.

This may now prompt Shakhtar to agree a lower fee with Milan for him to arrive now rather than having him leave for free.

This surely seals Matri's exit from the club, it will be curious to see whether we hope for Adriano and Bacca to co-exist or whether one will end up riding the bench. If Zlatan arrives one of them will certainly be consigned to a reserve role. Sinisa didn't rotate a great deal at Sampdoria apart from his forward line but that was largely tactical. Will be interesting seeing how we keep so many new additions up front happy.

If we get LA, then that fills up the non-eu spots (2). It seems increasingly likely, that he'll join us this summer, which leads me to believe that we won't be able to get Abdennour since he doesn't have an EU passport.

Also, we've renewed Mexes, and Jose Mauri will join up with the team in the next few days.

We still have: Paletta, Mexes, Alex and Zapata. We should look to get rid of 2, ideally Alex and Zapata. Alex is injured for most of the season so i don't think we'll miss him that much lol, also, the talks with Santos collapsed due to Alex's wages. Zapata will be staying by the looks of it, to help Bacca accommodate in Milan or some such other bs. Despite his NT performances, he isn't consistent enough for club level football.

I believe Shakhtar are desperate to sell him right now tbh , even for less than 8m , than lose him for nothing in January .No matter what they are saying now , they don't have the upper hand anymore , i think they will eventually concede. I believe anything in the vicinity of 5m to 7m will do the trick , but let's see . If Luiz Adriano has agreed to join Milan which according to many sources it seems he did , it will most likely be this summer .

As for the non-eu spot ; wasn't it confirmed clubs would have 1 spot more starting from this summer?? We also got rid off Lord Essien and Baron Muntari , so unless i am mistaken with the 3rd spot , we will have 1 more non-eu spot , even with Luiz Adriano.

Matri is leaving . Himself said he would like to stay , ok , but he also said he had to talk with Mihajlovic first . But that's not even the important factor here , it's what Presidente said . We are going to sign 3 strikers and 3 new strikers will be bought , Bacca is here and Adriano is very close. We don't have to sign Matri , so he was never in our plans from the get go . Matri will end up at Genoa or something. And obviously , what Berlusconi said more or less confirms Adriano will join this summer . No point even discussing this , he said 3 new strikers , Milan will have 3 new strikers , we already see it happening really .

The plan for the three strikers is now crystal clear ; one is Bacca , the other one is Luiz Adriano and our big signing for the summer is meant to be Ibrahimovic . I don't know if Galliani will be able to get him , but he remains our n1 transfer . So , assuming we succeed , the plan for the forward line for next season is this : Ibrahimovic - Bacca and Adriano and Niang for back up . Ses will play AM , it's almost official by now.

Even himself brought it up after he talked with Mihajlovic . And even if we don't get Ibra , we will just get someone else instead , so El Shaarawy is out of the picture for the 2 places up front. And if you ask me , that's fkn great news. I cannot wait for this .  



Forwards : Ibrahimovic , Bacca , Adriano , Niang

Also .

AMF : El Shaarawy , Suso

3-Man midfield : Bertolacci , De Jong , Montolivo , Jose Mauri

All the rest , Bonaventura , Honda , Poli , it remains to be seen what will happen with them and where they will play . I personally think Poli will leave if we get Witsel . Poli is already behind SES , Bertolacci , Bonaventura , Montolivo , De Jong , as far as playing time is considered . He will never start anywhere in the midfield before these players and we just got Jose Mauri on top of it ....

If we get Witsel , there's a very good chance both Poli and Honda will be leaving , or at the very least , one of them will. I guess it will depend on who Miha wants and who is willing to buy/loan one of them.

And the same goes for Honda tbh . He's not going to be starting games , or get picked off the bench before any of the afforementioned players , that is as good as given by now . To add , if we are to include the back up forwards in the matter , who most surely will occupy at the very least 1 substitution in 2/3 of our matches next season , it becomes very complicated . I also doubt we will be offloading Suso , lad came for peanuts , he is very talented and Mihajlovic will surely want him to stay. He even said Milan is going to be stronger next season early in the summer , indicating he very much intends to stay . Really eager to see how he does this season , even as 2nd or even 3rd option at AM .  

If it was up to me , then AM : first choice SES , second choice Suso / Bonaventura .

Midfield : Bertolacci-Montolivo/De Jong-Witsel and subs , Bonaventura-De Jong/Montolivo-Jose Mauri , with one of Poli/Honda sold. If Witsel doesn't sign , then they will probably stay and fight for a place in the midfield , no way Mihajlovic will trust Honda at AM , very slow for that . He has decent technique and he's smart , but he really lacks the flair and speed to succeed at modern AM . He ain't that much of an impressive dribbler either and although his passing is good , not sure if we can depend on that alone to be productive enough for a CL spot , chances are that's far from likely actually . His finishing is either meh / ok on his day , at best .

From what i've seen of Honda , i really doubt he would do a good job behind this particular set of forwards .. Too slow and too .. inconsistent in his pattern of play . If he had the speed and better technique , i'd say maybe , but he doesn't . He fits more the role-type CM with decent technique than a proper AM . I mean lol , Bonevantura is better than him in almost everything , even if he's meant to play AM he will be at best 3rd option ! And in any case , there's Suso too and you can be certain Miha doesn't plan to have 4 players to compete for 1 spot . I am calling it here , Honda is going to either try his chances at CM , or be sold . I'd say it's 50-50 what may happen and 100% sold if Witsel signs . He won't play 10 games if we get Witsel .

So , brief synopsis on Poli and Honda ;

The future of both Poli and Honda remain uncertain right now . Poli's playing time took a severe hit with the signings of Bertolacci and Jose Mauri . If we somehow get Witsel , or simply another interesting midfielder if not Witsel , by all means it means Poli is going to be loaned/sold . And the same goes for Honda as well , for one , if Miha's prefference at AM in Sampdoria is any indication , then he won't even consider him at AM with SES-Suso and Bonaventura around. And then , playing CM remains questionable for enough reasons , because even without Witsel/new midfielder , pretty much all the rest of midfielders bar (maybe..) Jose Mauri will be preffered instead of him ; probably including Poli who's already pretty behind in the picking order.

One thing is absolutely certain beyond any kind of doubt : Witsel signs = one of Poli or Honda is saying goodbye 100% . Chances are , the other one does as well . If the final midfielder isn't of Witsel's level and is more like Jose Maury type... idk , but i still expect at least one of the two to leave if we get a final midfielder.

And really , it doesn't take that much insight ; Any midfielder who signs for Milan right now .. it won't be for the bench. SES has the AM spot , Bertolacci Left CM and Montolivo is the captain , with De Jong being also very important. Even if we don't sign another midfielder , they are going to be subs 100% . So , the bench is almost secured by now , if Milan get a final midfielder , it will be either Witsel , or someone meant to begin games.. So what that means is , either Witsel-new midfielder , Poli/Honda or even both of them , are going to leave.

AC MILAN comunica di avere acquisito in data odierna a titolo definitivo da F.C. Shakhtar Donetsk il calciatore Luiz Adriano che ha firmato un contratto con scadenza 30 giugno 2020.
Il calciatore si aggregherà alla squadra nei prossimi giorni.

Luiz Adriano , welcome

I'm cautiously optimistic, but i hope this is a sign of more good things to come (midfield and defense reinforcement plox)

Laudisa: There is a way to bring Ibrahimovic back to @acmilan: 3-year contract with a €6m/year salary.