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i dont see witsel any better than monto tbh
even monto might be better

Haha yea, he is saying the deal is not dead yet because Atletico negotiations apperantly stalled and they do not want to pay the 35mil. I also doubt that they'll give him a bigger salary. Rumors are also out that they are negotiating with Chicharito.

This is what Galliani should do.....Call Atletico and tell them that he is completely pulling out of the deal, that way Atletico can lowball both Porto and Jackson and his cunt agent. Maybe we get a little preference over a player in return.

About Witsel, I don't see anything SPECIAL in him. He is a solid box-to-box player. Good in almost everything but not great in anything. His hype from a few years ago still has people excited about him, but I doubt people have seen him play more than a couple times a year. (Myself included) Regardless, I think he is a better deal at 30mil then Kondogbia at 40+.

If you ask me though, I wouldn't spend that much money on either one of them. I'm beating a dead horse with this statement...but this team needs a technical player or two. A creator, dribbler, etc. This is the most mediocre midfield I've seen at Milan. And it is made of players in the mold of Witsel/Kondogbia. Not saying same quality, but similar type. Just immagine the technical level of a midfield consisting of Pirlo,Seedorf, Rui Costa. Every one of those players could play under pressure using their tools. You could press that midfield but chances are you are going to waste energy because they won't panic and keep and advance the ball regardless....all because of their technical ability. Kind of like Barca's midfield, or Bayern's, or Real's. But NOW, we don't have a single player of similar technical ability. YET, we are willing to spend a huge sum on more of the same. I don't get it? Do I not understand this game enough? I wouldn't mind Witsel or Kondogbia if we had Verratti, Alcantara, Modric, Alonso, etc, also there. But what the hell is Witsel going to do when he has Montolivo, Poli and De Jong next to him. It's going to be the same old PAINFUL football from the past couple of years....unable to play under the press, slow play and build up, unable to create, etc.

I understand the importance of box-to-box players in modern football. But a midfield without a high technical level is nothing for me. Unless you have crazy technical wingers...which we don't have also. Like I said, maybe I'm just different or don't understand this "modern" game anymore....as I see people all over the Internet going crazy over players like Kondogbia when we don't have a player that can make a 20meter vertical pass. Although, on the other hand....the successful teams currently are actually proving me right as all of them have these great technicians in the midfield. It must mean something right?

(06-23-2015, 02:23 PM)sylrus Wrote: [ -> ]i dont see witsel any better than monto tbh
even monto might be better

Monty is miles behind witsel. Juve consider him their next pirlo, and they are defo not exaggerating haha. Every pent spent on him instead of cavani is money well spent.

I myself have watched him week in week out, being the Belgian specialist haha. That's why, for instance, I do not get the Benteke hype in England. He will never fit in a top english team and neither will Lukaku. Believe me when I say he's far more than a box to box player. I hold juve's rating of a player much higher than that of our scouting apparatus haha.

Anyway, if you watch him every week, youll know how good he is at distributing play due to his passing vision and presence on the field. He's the type of player we barely need as we've been lacking that so much. He always played as a cdm but lately has been used as an attacking player, which gives him more liberty and creative options. Something he's been shining in too.

If we sign Witsel + one real trequartista, we'll have witsel distributing play from defence upwards and the trequartista setting up the chances.. But I doubt we'll get witsel and a treq...

It looks like Roma has reached a deal for the other half of Naingolan. They are apparently paying 20mil but they also get to keep Ibarbo and are picking up Ekdal.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Milan's supposed move with Bertolacci later today.

I'm rather ambivalent on Martinez. It's fine to be irritated by what was said or done by him and his agent, but I wouldn't close the door completely yet, mostly because it's difficult to find a player of similar quality/status for a similar price. I think the club should speak to his agent, put the offer on the table and say it take it or leave it now, with a medical to be completed immediately and if that's not possible, we pull out. Simply put, pressure them and we control whether or not he comes. That action also sends a clear and public message that we're not prepared to mess about.

On Witsel, I find the comments interesting. I've never thought of him as a regista especially, I still don't see him being a particularly great one, I don't see a player with great vision or passing. Maybe I'm missing something and no doubt you've seen more of him mathiask, but I just don't really get it.

nefremo, I agree about needing more technical quality. That's why I don't get why Xhaka's not being chased, the guy is highly technical and dominates and runs the team. He's precisely what the club needs. Imo, we need balance though, hence I've not only always selected technical player per se, but players with good all round qualities.

Like Dev and Nefremo, I also fail to find what is so special about Witsel. He's a very similar player to Montolivo, he's very slow with the ball and he can't dribble past players, just like Montolivo. We need, fast, explosive players who will carry this team on their shoulders. Witsel is a step in the wrong direction, especially for that kind of money. I think Galliani is only attracted by "famous" and hyped players, ignoring the real gems like Allan and Xhaka, who would immensely improve this team.

Allan is definitely quality. Udinese will sell too, they always do.

(06-23-2015, 04:01 PM)nefremo Wrote: [ -> ]It looks like Roma has reached a deal for the other half of Naingolan. They are apparently paying 20mil but they also get to keep Ibarbo and are picking up Ekdal.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Milan's supposed move with Bertolacci later today.

Sky is saying that we are preparing a 37M offer for Nainggolan. I actually wouldn't be surprised if we buy either him or Bertolacci.

I agree with what ACMILAN1983's opinion on Martinez. As much as I think he is an ass hole for the stunt he is trying to pull by playing both sides of the fences, it is not really necessary to shut him out. There is probably still a very low chance he ends up joining us, but it is not necessary for us to close the door on him just because he acted on self interest. At the end of the day, we still need a talent like him, and guys with his characteristics are hard to find in the game today since most strikers like to play small and shifty but does not use their body as a battering ram. If it really does come down to JM not being able to get it done with Atletico, we should swoop in for sure with a take it or leave it offer. Hell, I would even lower the money we originally offered for salary by a bit (3M instead of 3.5M) just to stick it to his and his agent's faces. Ultimately, we need someone like him and there aren't a lot of players out there with his quality no matter the price.

I would welcome Witsel. Although I have not seen much of him, he is the kind of complete midfielders all teams need. Even if he plays like Montolivo, he could still take Monto's spot in the line up. It's not like Monto has even played like he is worth a starting spot anyway. A big, athletic and technically sound midfielder adds a different dimension to our midfield, which is why we were that interested in Kondogbia to begin with. Witsel may not be a world beater, but he is definitely an upgrade to our existing personnel and sure as hell better than Baselli and Bertolacci. Allan and Xhaka are both fine players who would be great for us, but Witsel to me, does bring something different than those two with his physical attributes. And if Chelsea thinks Witsel is good enough to play for them, that should be a fair judgment call on his quality as it is. I doubt Chelsea would want Montolivo for any price.

I also want to throw out an odd ball candidate for midfield, Kovacic. I know, I know, he is an Inter player and they would never sell him to us. But Inter is spending a lot of money this summer and they have to sell some players for high price to avoid FPP penalties. Sure, Kovacic is linked with Liverpool, but I also read Pool is signing Firmino, who in some ways is the same type of player. If Liverpool can't agree to a deal with Inter and drops out of the race, how many other elite teams in Europe would have room for Kovacic? Nevertheless spend 30M on him. If we can come up with an offer of say, 32M for Kovacic, I think Inter would have to think really carefully about taking it or else risk penalties. Nothing concrete, just food for thought.