Summer Mercato

[Arildonardo]

Torino interested in Zapata. Zapata + Nocerino + money for Cerci? Let's hope Inzaghi can push something through.

http://www.football-italia.net/54440/tur...ans-zapata

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Ive seen Madrid will accept €10m for Khedira.But the big problems would be convincing him to join current Milan.Also he's on €5m after tax wages now ,he wanted €8m after tax from Arsenal ,but apparently he'll accept €6.5m ...thats €13m we just cannot go that high these days.Thats what i read on papers the UK and Ireland and its on LeQuipe and metro too.

I need more solid info but ,looks like Seville and Valencia have agreed a €2m for Banega.

Yes, Bayern are hoping to sign Khedira in competition with Arsenal and Chelsea. Arsenal on the other hand have had a €7 million bid for Rabiot accepted as his contract talks with PSG have stalled.

Khedira's wages was way too high for us anyway. Rabiot on the other hand would be a good one for the future, but it's hard to compete with Wenger for young french talents.

[nefremo]

Khedira is a quality player, but not what we need. We need creativity. Obviously, he is an upgrade over most our midfielders though. Either way, I don't think we are in the picture for this. Wages will be a problem even if his transfer fee seems to be low.

Tancredo Palmeri has reported on twitter that Atletico has found an agreement with Torino for Cerci. Fee is said to be undisclosed but believed to be around 20mil.
If this is true, then the only three targets left for RW are Campbell (Arsenal doesn't want to sell), Taarabt (not the left footer that Pippo has been asking for), and Costa (seems to be set to leave, but will we pay?).

The CM thing has disappeared. It was said that Pippo wants a CM but we haven't heard of any rumors. I wouldn't be surprised if Galliani just buys Dzemaili (or another Nocerinoesque player) the last day of the transfer market. We also play Valencia tomorrow so maybe Galliani will ask for Banega? It's been said that Sevilla has agreed a price of 2mil. If that's all he'll go for, then he's worth the risk. He's got off the field issues that have stalled him on the field too, but at 2mil it's worth it IMO.

On the other side of the market, there's been some talk of Didac leaving, and the obvious interest in Zapata. But I want more.....get Zaccardo out, get Essien out, get Agazzi/Gabriel out...

The biggest worry for me is that there absolutely no talk of some of the leftover deadwood leaving. It was said that

[reza]

As far as deadwood goes, loans may become a problem, but we have to give credit where it's due

Coppola, Birsa, Noce, Matri, Amelia, Silvestre, Emanuelson, Constant ... that\s already a huge list of players not here from last season. Not even counting Robinho and Kaka.

[ACM2023]

Grading Milan’s mercato so far
August 10, 2014 | by Anthony Ali under Opinion

AFTER MILAN’S 8th place Serie A finish, which saw them fall short of all European competitions, the need for wholesale changes at the club became evident again as it had after the first half of the season.

Following the controversial dismissal of head coach Clarence Seedorf, youth coach Filippo Inzaghi was brought in to take the managerial reins of the squad.

Let’s take a look at those signed and offloaded since his arrival.

Hachim Mastour. Age 16. Promoted from youth system
While this wasn’t the handiwork of Inzaghi, Mastour’s promotion will hopefully facilitate his maturation into the player that all Milanisti hope that he’ll become. Having already shot promos with Neymar, Mastour is being touted as the next superstar footballer and has featured somewhat regularly in Milan’s preseason. Showing glimpses of nimble footwork, smart passing, and energetic running, Mastour is definitely one for the future. Although I doubt he’ll get much playing time over the more experienced players at his young age, I am extremely optimistic about his future. Final Grade: B+.

Michael Agazzi. Age 30. Free transfer from Chievo
Not a name that anyone got excited over, Michael Agazzi provides little depth in what was arguably Milan’s weakest position. Poor pre-season showings have done little to help his standing in the depth chart, much less make him a candidate to replace Abbiati between the sticks. I see a loan in either his or Gabriel’s futures. Final Grade: D.

Alex da Costa. Age 32. Free transfer from PSG
Now, this is a transfer that is tricky to grade. As I can tell from the comments, a lot of Milanisti aren’t quite sold on Alex. Keep in mind that this is the same Alex that gave Marquinhos a serious battle for a starting spot, all while playing at a good level. Although he still hasn’t settled into his new club quite yet (as shown by his lack of synergy with Rami in the friendlies), Alex elevates the quality of defending at the club and is a definite step up from Bonera. Final Grade: B-.

Jeremy Menez. Age 27. Free transfer from PSG
Menez, coming with Serie A experience from his stint at Roma, brings technical skill and adds a much needed injection of pace into the Diavolo’s attack. A strong passer and crosser of the ball, Menez primarily plays as a winger and can also be deployed as an attacking midfielder. Having been deemed surplus to requirements at the Parc des Princes, could be a perfect fit and a nice compliment to Balotelli should Milan stick to a 4-3-3. Final Grade: B+

Adil Rami. Age 28. Transfer from Valencia for €4,250,000
Arguably Milan’s best defender since his arrival on loan in January, Rami is the defensive antithesis to Mexes. Disciplined and calm, Rami excels at timing his tackles and not diving into challenges unnecessarily. Strong in the air and effective with his long passing, he fills in one of Milan’s most desperate needs: a quality center back. Let’s not forget that he is also an asset on set pieces, both while taking them and receiving them. His most important trait, however, is that his heart is at Milan. Having reportedly footed €500,000 of his transfer fee, he will undoubtedly try to make the most of his permanent move to Milan. Final Grade: A.

Diego Lopez. Age 32. Free transfer from Real Madrid
After telling Madrid directors that he was the best goalkeeper in their squad, Diego Lopez is set to be joining Milan. A confident shot-stopper that is one of the more well rounded goalkeepers in the world, he dislodged Iker Casillas from his long standing status as Real Madrid’s first choice goalkeeper during Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Madrid. He more than satisfies the Rossoneri’s need for a new goalkeeper. I can’t see any reason as to why he would not start. Final Grade: A.

Pablo Armero. Age 27. Loan from Udinese
Pace, stamina, and versatility are Armero’s greatest strengths. Earning a move to Napoli after his stellar performances with Udinese, he failed to replicate that form for the Partenopei and was promptly loaned out to West Ham. Coming off of several good performances for Colombia in the latest iteration of the World Cup, it remains to be seen if Armero can maintain that level of play at the club level. He could potentially serve as an alternative to De Sciglio or play higher up the pitch. He’s a notch above Constant and Emanuelson for sure and could inject a languid Milan side with some much needed energy. Final Grade: B.

Overall Grade: B

Milan, in the meantime, have said goodbye to Kaka (Orlando City, free transfer), Robinho (Santos F.C., loan), Antonio Nocerino (loan to Torino), Valter Birsa (loan to Chievo), Alessandro Matri (loan to Genoa), Kevin Constant (sold to Trabzonspor for €2.5 million), Alberto Paloschi (€3.5 million co-ownership resolved, Chievo), Adel Taarabt (returned from loan, QPR), Bakaye Traoré (free transfer to Bursaspor), Urby Emanuelson (expired contract, signed by Roma), and Marco Amelia (expired contract). I think that Milan picked up a lot of solid pieces while simultaneously cutting a decent portion of those 75% that Seedorf didn’t want on the squad. Call me optimistic, but it seems to me that although Milan do not have the strongest or most competitive squad yet, they have made significant improvements. That being said, Milan could still use at least two more signings, one being a right-sided attacker with the other being a defensive midfielder or a fullback.

One thing to keep an eye out for is De Jong’s continuous link with a move to Manchester United. The last thing this team needs is for last season’s best player to board a flight to Manchester. Should this happen, it would be interesting to see how the club would replace him. One name that has been circulated in the discussion has been that of Barca’s Alex Song.

How would you feel about Alex Song joining Milan? How would you rate Milan’s transfer market? Where do you think the squad could use improvement? Feel free to comment!

http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2014/08/10/...to-so-far/

[ACMILAN1983]

Ah that's the one I was posting about a week or so about. Personally, I thought they were too generous. Anyway, you can see my reasoning below.

An interesting article (grading) on our mercato:

http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2014/08/10/...to-so-far/?

Personally I think they're very generous. I'd overall say we're maybe at C- atm. Our sales have generally been poor if not pretty much disastrous, with only Constant seemingly being an adequate sale (even then 2.5m is pretty low).

As for incoming players, it's typical freebies and older players from Galliani. Alex wasn't ever my first choice even if he should offer some guarantees. However, it would have been MUCH more prudent to buy a young quick CB to partner Rami, especially knowing we've sold 3 of our most promising young defenders (Pacifico, Iotti and Simic) and other than Zapata, who looks likely to leave, we have zero pace at the back.

Menez is at best the alternative to what Taarabt offered last season and would be a good signing if he was the joker off the bench, but at this point he's a starter, which simply isn't enough. Our midfield and fullbacks haven't been improved at all, which is pretty terrible. Our fullbacks are ok if Abate can step up again this season after a very poor year (and to an extent DES too), but really we're looking at DES and Abate as starters and Bonera/Zaccardo and Albertazzi as backup. Essentially it's a big risk. In midfield, the only positive is youngsters like Cristante and Saponara are due to get space at this point. However, at this point we're one quality mezzala short of a good midfield (a lot will depend on whether Pippo can get De Jong and Montolivo working together).

In goal, Agazzi was a terrible signing, though Diego Lopez kind of makes up for it. However, he's contracted to us until he's 36 and earns a fair chunk of money. Surely it would have made sense to sign a guy like Ochoa (who is 29) on free and then in a year or two look to sign Perin as the long term.

We've failed to sell Balotelli too, which imo was necessary this summer to rebuild. Ultimately, I give a C- for this mercato mostly because we've got a few players who can immediately help make us slightly more competitive. However, the long term risks of these signings (especially Alex and Diego Lopez) do concern me and we may struggle longer term. Very little young talent has been added too, which is extremely disappointing.

A couple of things to add to that. We've obviously got Armero now for LB, which will hopefully mean he'll be on the left and DES on the right. Realistically though, I'm not totally convinced Armero at this point is better than Abate, certainly not a major upgrade given his defensive frailties.

The other element is obviously the mercato isn't over. if we were to get Douglas Costa and Rabiot for example (two guys signed for the long term), I'd reconsider how successful this mercato's been. Not to say I'd magically say we've got an A, but it would be a sign of the project we claim to be going for. I also wouldn't mind seeing Piccinocchi and Mastalli given some opportunities during this season. Maybe in the coppa or something.

[Gabriel426]

I think their grading is pretty fair mainly due to the improvements , at least on paper, to the squad.
Since at least three if not four of those players will be in the starting 11 while the bench in turn got deeper and stronger.

Armero might not be better than Abate at this point but he is a better option on the left side than Constant and Urby.
Alex might be 32 but he is the type of defender that Milan needs, exp, direct and someone who can control/organise the back line. On top of that he is a better CB than any of the CBS in Milan.
D Lopez is a huge upgrade over Abbiatti, there is no doubt about that.
While Menez can no way be worse than Robinho and Birsa
On top of that Pazzo is ready and he is a much better striker than Matri.
Having Honda from the start will not only add depth but he will be a better player than he came in jan an due to rest, training with the team and adjusting live in Milan.
Cristante seems to have the faith and trust of Pippo thus he will probably be ahead the likes of Muntari and Essien.

Ofcourse, this team is not a team who can challenge the likes of Napoli, Juve and Roma, but I think the team is heading the right direction and might can even sneak into third place with some luck.

Personally, I think as long as Pippo gives youth regular playing time, Milan will have a pretty strong core in a few years with a nice financial numbers due to be the expired contracts of those dead weights.

[Jay Crisp]

Marca are reporting of Barcas interest in Douglas Costa.Here on the emerald isle the Arsenal interesr in Costa is there as the were shot down when asking Porto about Quintero.

The Rabiot to Arsenal is there too €7m.But nothing official.
Im pretty much done scouring for rumours.I just do a quick search read here & elswhere ,rather than being a maniac looking for news.I dont see much happening beside a few low cost options mainly Dzemaili & Taarabt.I mean theres a nice core as mentioned ,Lopez DES Cristante SES Balo Monty DeJong Menez Rami.If all remain fit & click we should make Europa League.

[ACMILAN1983]

For those who like to be underwhelmed ()...

http://www.milannews.it/primo-piano/tutt...abt-152657

I think their grading is pretty fair mainly due to the improvements , at least on paper, to the squad.
Since at least three if not four of those players will be in the starting 11 while the bench in turn got deeper and stronger.

Armero might not be better than Abate at this point but he is a better option on the left side than Constant and Urby.
Alex might be 32 but he is the type of defender that Milan needs, exp, direct and someone who can control/organise the back line. On top of that he is a better CB than any of the CBS in Milan.
D Lopez is a huge upgrade over Abbiatti, there is no doubt about that.
While Menez can no way be worse than Robinho and Birsa
On top of that Pazzo is ready and he is a much better striker than Matri.
Having Honda from the start will not only add depth but he will be a better player than he came in jan an due to rest, training with the team and adjusting live in Milan.
Cristante seems to have the faith and trust of Pippo thus he will probably be ahead the likes of Muntari and Essien.

Ofcourse, this team is not a team who can challenge the likes of Napoli, Juve and Roma, but I think the team is heading the right direction and might can even sneak into third place with some luck.

Personally, I think as long as Pippo gives youth regular playing time, Milan will have a pretty strong core in a few years with a nice financial numbers due to be the expired contracts of those dead weights.

I don't really agree. We're talking about grading the mercato, meaning by default we can't and shouldn't be counting the likes of Cristante, Honda and Pazzini.

Our key aim this mercato should have been to sell some "fodder" from the group before making investments in players who can give an important hand in aiming for CL positions. While we've successful got rid of a few like Birsa and Constant, we've not managed to sell others like Matri, Nocerino and Robinho. On top of that, other sales that were planned by the club, notably Balotelli and most probably one of Mexes and Zapata, as well as Essien have so far have been failed, with them being costly players to keep.

Armero not being better than Abate is a big problem, because it's another player in an inflated squad that doesn't improve the side. If that was the case, we might as well have used Abate and DES at RB and LB respectively and we'd have the same level of quality.

Diego Lopez is a good signing, as I've said before, but there are inherent risks of signing an over 30 year old at 2.5m per season. We've been burned by this sort of deal before.

Same for Alex, he's a stop gap solution at best and again could be a costly problem in the future. While I'd agree he's probably the best CB we have (assuming he'll play to the level he's shown before this summer), I definitely can't agree he's an organiser at the back, as he's never been one to organise the back line in his career (at PSG it was Thiago Silva, at Chelsea it was Terry and at PSV he had Ooijer, Cocu and Van Bommel around him). The other problem is he's really slow and with Bonera, Mexes or Rami alongside him, we have a potential issue with pace.

Menez at this point is a Taarabt alternative. He offers similar qualities, although imo is better. However, that's not enough for a side challenging against Juve, Roma and Napoli.

It might sound like I'm calling this mercato a total failure, I'm not, but I'm not going to say it's been good either (which is what I'd say a B is). Imo it's somewhere between acceptable and mediocre, hence a C- being my choice.

[Arildonardo]

Shaktar holding out for €40 million for Douglas Costa. Other sources say €25 million. Not sure if the Cerci thing is 100% dead yet, Torino want Zapata and full ownership of Nocerino.

Pandev and Taraabt are alternatives...

[Eli]

Valencia have confirmed the sale of Ever Banega to Sevilla.