Summer Mercato 2016
New reports today say that our new objective is Tielemans and we're preparing an offer in the 20-25m range. What happened to Kovacic I wonder? Is he still leaving Madrid or have we just given up on him..

On Gabriel... I dont think he is anywhere near as good as Neymar was at the same age. However, I see him being a good player, and I'd definitely take the gamble on him.

The agreement for Candreva is exciting, always admired his playing style and he's probably better than all our other options right now, considering the rest of the players we've been linked with would take a while to mature/adapt to Serie A. I like the idea of Zielinski and Sosa coming, but we need a bigger signing as well. Zielinski is a very exciting player IMO good technique, fast, good dribbling, good shot - he's just a bit featherweight and definitely need to put on some weight. He's been criticised for being too weak on the ball, nonetheless, he'll fit Montellas system very well IMO.

As far as Sosa, Besiktas fans obsess over him and he's generally considered a very good player by media and fans alike. I'll take their word because I haven't seen a whole lot of him.
If our recent transfer dealings have taught us one thing, it is the importance of going after Italian players. I know, I know, as one of the biggest opponents to the Italian Milan policy, I feel weird typing that too, but the merits of that policy is starting to show.

As currently structured, we are very very limited in our appeal as a team to high caliber players or up and coming youngsters. I mean, Pjaca would rather sit on the bench at Juve than to be a featured player with us; Zielinski would rather go to Liverpool, who also have no european participation and is loaded with options at midfield than us. These international players have no attraction or hold Milan in high regard, which makes it difficult for us to sign them as long as they have any other options. Things are a little different for Italian players. Despite our international reputation, we are still considered as a big deal in Italy. Italian players still want to be associated with Milan to boost their image within Italy. Lapadula, for example, had plenty of offers but still chose us for that reason. I think our strategy is going to have to be one where we focus on domestic players and maybe try to get lucky with one or two big name international signings. It's not a sexy strategy, but it's something we might have to live with.
There is not going to be a magic bullet for a post B&G era, especially when they have some say like Galliani does this summer. So we should not expect any new owners, super rich or not to do much this summer, as I have already posted I hope to see one big signing though, to tell others we are back. But overall it will take time.
Also, on a more general level, the seasons are too long and the pre-seasons are too long too. One easy example is Montella is working with players this week and a good bunch are leaving, I mean I see training pics with Lopez for example.
I think if anything what's messed this mercato up is that there's still no agreement for the sale of the club. As long as they haven't signed the preliminary, we can't really do much on the market, and players will choose other clubs. Milan has been in limbo since the end of last season, so we need that agreement to be signed asap. Otherwise this season will be no better than the previous three.
(07-13-2016, 07:33 PM)devoted_dm Wrote: I think if anything what's messed this mercato up is that there's still no agreement for the sale of the club. As long as they haven't signed the preliminary, we can't really do much on the market, and players will choose other clubs. Milan has been in limbo since the end of last season, so we need that agreement to be signed asap. Otherwise this season will be no better than the previous three.

You hit the nail on the head there. For weeks now, the agreement is not signed, and all everyone talks about is "There are no problems, just minor details and technicalities left". If that were the case, this whole thing should've been wrapped up two weeks ago. I don't know what "minor details" or "technicalities" are driving these delays, but I have to think they are bigger problems than we are being told, judged by the amount of time it is taking to resolve them. We are halfway through July already, and losing precious time for our preseason preparations. Either move your asses and get the details all ironed out, or just back the hell off and call off the deal, I really don't care either way any more. This endless wait is what's killing me, and I am not even sure who is driving the problem, Berlu or the Chinese.
All the big teams start finishing up their transfer campaigns by July and with us, even the sale is not done yet. Imagine the vibe at Milanello where players aren't even sure if they will stay next season or not. Whether the new owners will buy better replacements.

Why they have waited so late to wrap up the sale? There is no doubt in my mind that Berlusconi and Galliani's incompetence leaks here as well. So Zielinksi goes to Liverpool. Benatia and Pjaca go to Juve. Besiktas do not want to sell Sosa and Candreva is going to Napoli. All we have left now is Musacchio.

Looks like just about the usual transfer window. Waiting for Galliani to sign a couple of rejects and a Raiola client. Heck we can get Balotelli back, LFC don't want him.
Benatia to Juve should be officialised soon.
I'm not too worried about the players that we are "missing out" on. There is still many players other there that we can potentially buy and that will immensely improve our team. There is also still plenty of time to do that. My problem is with Galliani's inability to identify the proper players.

All this team need is a smart investment for 3-4 starting quality players.
1 CB - seems to be Musacchio. I'm OK with that.
2 CMS (1cm, 1am....depends on what the plan is)
1 RW
From there on if a good deal comes available on a young player with potential or a squad player, go for it. (As an example, the links we see with Papu Gomez, or the ones we saw with Coric)

So I'm not worried about the timing or who other clubs like Juventus and Inter are signing. I'm more worried about the fact that Galliani seems to be waiting for the money to be available so that he can make up with his friend Preziosi and buy Pavoletti....or that he will splash close to 20mil on Zielinski....or that he'll end up spending 8mil on a 31 year old like Sosa and claim that our midfield is complete.
So Galiani is officially in Spain and he will apparently try to close the Musacchio deal tomorrow. I know that we have hear the words "close tomorrow" many times, so I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happens.

Also, Galliani has actually confirmed that he met Braida in Barcelona....but not about the market (yea right). According to milannews, the names discussed were Arda, Adriano, Tello, and Vermaelen. I don't thin they know details of who was discussed so imo they are just trowing out names that are linked with Barcelona exits.
Come to think of it, I don't think we need to sign a RW. Honda's performances have greatly improved last season, and because of that I think he should stay. However, I'm not sure Honda is too keen on staying for another season, so let's say how this plays out. I'd rather we spend the money in another position, such as another midfielder.

€80M to be invested in 2-3 quality midfielders, €20M for Musacchio, and let the defense and attack stay the way it is. Top 5 should be attainable if the midfielders we get are people like Tielemans, Kovacic, Andre Gomes, etc.


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