Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

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.

If his contract/wages were the only issue . If only .

This is the first summer ever where i hope for another club to get stronger really . lol

3 years contract on 6m seems ideal to me , don't care how old Ibra is or will be . Zlatan is going to Zlatan anyway , he could rekt Serie A even at 37 .

Come home Zlatan

His age is immaterial as you say, one merely needs to look at Totti. Two years in a row he's been Roma's most influential forward as they've come second and for how many years previously? All this with a body that's had injury problems throughout his career and without Ibra's formidable frame. Even if he doesn't score as freely it's immaterial, for he'll improve the level of everyone around him which is the main reason I want him back. Even then he'll still find a way to score his wonder goals and he'll put away the countless penalties we earn.

He might be integral to PSG's image but they've the money to bring in other important players and you can't risk a dressing room cancer as large as Zlatan. If they're not letting him go he'll probably go extinguish the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe on transfer deadline day.

I simply have to reiterate what Leonardo has said , that Ibra needs to be happy to be the player he is and play the way he does , at his own level . Just 'doing well' and being in a competitive team , isn't enough for him and he has proven that many times over .

His will is surely our biggest advantage in a potential transfer . However , Al Khelaifi isn't exactly going to care if he isn't the exact same player either. He would still be 'Ibra at PSG' , even for a final season .

I hope they listen to reason and grant him his wish , if his wish is to leave obviously . We must remain realistic about this , i am hard pressed to say it's even 50-50% , no matter how much sense it makes , or how likely it seems. It's not going to be easy to convince PSG to allow him to leave , they would need a massive signing to replace him .

So , understanding this , they can't really be convinced ; it's only on their own if they decide to move on to the next page , meaning , they have to get themselves a new star to resume their project . Only then Ibra will leave this summer , elsewise , bar the sporting side where Ibra most likely won't be the same player under these circumstances , Ibra would still be Ibra for PSG and he would leave for free next summer .

I want him badly to come , but i preffer to be realistic before anything else. But let's hope , maybe Raiola could do something . Tbh , maybe only him and Leonardo could make this happen and that's only if they buy someone big to begin with.

Complicated .

The major difficulty I forsee is that whilst PSG have plenty of money to improve their squad, there aren't many hugely marketable players around who can become a new face of the club. They can improve the side by bringing in a new fullback or a replacement for an aging Motta and grow from a sporting perspective but no DM in the world is going to create as much excitement as Ibrahimovic ever did.

What might make up for it is if they bought a French star. The only three names who might match up to Ibra though would be Benzema, Pogba and Lacazette and the third is really only for the domestic market still, despite his quality. You would expect none of them to be available however.

Despite all this, I still think he'll arrive. I don't yet see who they'll bring in but they closed the David Luiz deal in the blink of an eye. I'm expecting something to come from out of the blue in much the same way this year.

Let's hope so . They certainly don't lack the means to do so .

But why wouldn't Lacazette be available? I am sure they can get him if they really want him . Although , i am not that well versed into Ligue 1 matters , maybe you're right .

Benzema i believe they can also get , but it remains to be seen what would Real's answer would be . I suppose no , because they would have the same issue themselves then. Real could replace him with Aguero i suppose , however i don't see why City would sell , even for ridiculous money. And although money ain't an issue for Real , spending ridiculous money to replace Benzema , that doesn't seem a good idea . I mean , they don't have to replace Benzema , why force themselves to do it.

Anyway , like you say , PSG can definitely get someone big like they did with David Luiz . I am not really sure who , but they can actually. Let's see . I think they will go after Pogba actually.

Like hell they can't get him if they want him at all costs . Anything 100m and above to Juventus and anything 10m and above for the player and they got him already . It's not like they can't pay that much money , they can easily spend 100m on Pogba , possibly even more. And the wages lol , 10m or 12m makes no matter to them , Pogba can't say no to such money .

I don't know if they will do it , but surely Pogba is on their list . Anyway , let's hope Ibrahimovic arrives no matter what they do , maybe even Lacazette and a couple of other players could do the trick. Let's see.

If you threw enough money at Lacazette, Lyon might simply have to yield, but it would take an extraordinary effort. Lyon were the kings of France for nigh on a decade before this period of misery. Having finally returned to competing for, if not winning, the Champions League, it would be unimaginable to allow one's greatest star to join the usurper. It would be like Stannis lining up as the commander of Dany's armies. An incredible combination but unthinkable. Could it happen? Money talks but they'd probably have to smash the French transfer record they set for Cavani and even then it might be insufficient if the player wants to wait a year in order to move to England or Spain instead.

If Aguero to Madrid were possible, I would be banking all my chips on Benzema to PSG, however City's squad needs rejuvenation and Aguero's the crowning jewel around which they can build. You're in football for one reason only, to win. If they sell Aguero there's not much left and to do so whilst United get prepared for another huge summer would be intolerable. The only way I see Benzema departing for PSG instead is if Benitez can convince Ronaldo to move to centre forward but I don't see why any of that would transpire.

As for Pogba, it's possible but I imagine Juventus are licking their lips at the prospect of selling Pogba in a year after he's crowned a European Champion as France's key player. It will make Zidane's pay off look like petty cash. Even if he doesn't win, they'll likely get the same fee as now but having enjoyed his play for an extra season. Not much to be lost by waiting twelve months unless Pogba decides to revolt but I doubt he will over just one more year.

Still, I await a surprise from Paris. Who knows, maybe they'll decide to bank it all on Hazard, he's the only other player I could think of who has the sort of currency they're looking for but whether he wants a return to France is debatable. In any case, Chelsea will resist such a move.

It's odd to think that at the end of the day, none of these things might happen and we might have the best market of any club this summer with a few more purchases.

Calma Dost, they'll get Turan/Di Maria/Yaya Toure to fill in the vacancy in terms of star power when Ibra leaves imo

Could they bring something new to PSG on the pitch? Sure, but could they bring the same star power as Ibra? No way.

In any case, Di Maria has no real place unless they use Verratti in front of the back four which is unwise in my eyes as otherwise Pastore is better and Turan's hardly going to make up for Ibra's absence, though he might be more consistent than Moura. Don't see why they'd need Yaya, not that he wouldn't be of use but replacing Motta's surely more of a priority than Matuidi/Verratti. Still, I don't care who they sign as long as it frees Ibra.

I've been wondering what will happen with Verdi.. I remember he used to be the most talented of the bunch during his time in the primavera and we fought with Torino to get him all to ourselves

In our discussions, no one seems to mention him not even as a depth option. Even Berlusconi when talking about the incoming players yesterday mentioned Gabriel, Niang and Ely but somehow forgot to mention Verdi

I haven't followed him since he left the primavera, so I was wondering what kind of player he has turned into. Will he have a role to play this season? If not, why did we waste so much energy in bringing him back?

I watched Empoli regularly last season where he was a bench option. He's not good enough for Milan but he'd probably be of use as a squad option to a lower table Serie A side. He's got decent enough feet, can play through the middle or out wide and will continue to improve but Milan's certainly above his current level.

No one can match the icon that is Ibra, however they can get some decent, not necessarily household names, but well known players. Btw, you have too much faith in PSG doing the wise thing by not getting players surplus to requirements, in my experience with more well-off clubs, i do not share that sentiment

PSG's recruitment has been fairly measured and spot on thus far, Luiz aside perhaps. The rest of their deals have made a lot of sense at the time however, even if some players didn't perform up to standards, you could see what the plan was. In the same way though, you could say any of those prospective targets would make sense going forward. It will come down to their expectations in the end. The understanding seems to be that Ibra can leave if they bring in another star but only they can really decide who meets that criteria.

If Juventus' interest in Nastasic and Abdennour turns out to be sincere, I would go in hard for Rugani in addition to Romagnoli. We need two central defenders and more experienced defenders such as Godin or Hummels are all but out of reach, why not go for both? We have the cash and unlike their parent clubs we can offer them starting positions. We'll have to overpay grossly but it's better than overpaying for Astori come deadline day.

It won't happen but I can dream.

I humbly disagree, they got Cavani as a replacement for Gameiro, then they change formation and decide to play Cavani on the wing every now and then. Luiz, you already mentioned. Cabaye, little more than a benchwarmer, was he supposed to be the Motta replacement? Dunno, but he ain't even getting time there. Anyways, they're more gauging in their recruitment than other clubs (i.e. Chelsea) i'll say that

dostoevsky wrote:If Juventus' interest in Nastasic and Abdennour turns out to be sincere, I would go in hard for Rugani in addition to Romagnoli. We need two central defenders and more experienced defenders such as Godin or Hummels are all but out of reach, why not go for both? We have the cash and unlike their parent clubs we can offer them starting positions. We'll have to overpay grossly but it's better than overpaying for Astori come deadline day.

It won't happen but I can dream.

Hopefully Chiellini puts in a good word for Rugani and makes sure he doesn't make the same mistake he did

I don't see anything wrong with their purchase of Cabaye. Any top club needs depth in the middle and their only other options at that time were Rabiot and some rather average defensive minded midfielder whose name I can't even bring to mind, I think it began with C. He's French, can cover any midfield position and possessed the quality to act either as a reserve or a starter in the case of injury but I don't think anyone envisioned him replacing any of their midfield three, except perhaps Cabaye but that's hardly a slight on PSG, it was a sensible transfer from their point of view.

Cavani's transfer again was entirely defensible at the time. Everyone thought it would be a fantastic idea to play a mobile, hard working, prolific nine off Ibra. After all, that's what we're planning on doing, no? At the time however Pastore was nowhere near as productive in his role and defensively they then had to adjust and put Cavani on the wing, but there was nothing wrong with the idea at the time. Even so, he was still seen as a way to future proof the club, bringing in Europe's most desired centre forward who was expected to be able to co-exist then replace Zlatan.

Hell, even Luiz has more to do with the price tag than the actual transfer.

Their overall strategy has largely made sense at the time throughout their build, unlike City who make it a habit to drop 30 million on a new striker at least once or twice every window whilst ignoring the flanks and the centre of the park.