Summer Mercato 2019

[Sleeping Giant]

This

I still think Todibo is the best deal which we can get under 15M. We only need a guy who partners Romagnoli. Musacchio and Gabbia are there for backups. Still, I think spending 20M+ on a CB is mere stupidity.

[AC_Troy]

I still think Todibo is the best deal which we can get under 15M. We only need a guy who partners Romagnoli. Musacchio and Gabbia are there for backups. Still, I think spending 20M+ on a CB is mere stupidity.

I don't think they let him go for that cheap

[mazen111]

BREAKING: Andre Silva is currently taking his medical for Monaco. They have reached an agreement with Milan to sign him for 25M. The player will sign a five-year contract [@MohamedBouhafsi]

Lucci and Milan are working on the sale of Suso, per @AntoVitiello

Roma to offer Nzonzi in Suso exchange goal

Unai Emery has praised Dani Ceballos as Arsenal reportedly close in on a loan move. goal

Bennacer has left Casa Milan after signing his contract with Milan milan eye

[hwmook]

Let's look at Correa of last season:

https://www.transfermarkt.com/angel-corr...aison=2018

49 matches total, but only 8 full matches, and almost 53 minutes/match.

I think he lacks some stamina (older seasons are quite similar).

You go and see how many mins Thomas Lemar played last year, their wingers and centre forwards get very little minutes. Only griezmann got decent minutes. Their attackers goal scoring rate is also pretty low, the team is just ultra defensive and doesn't attack.

[Nicolas]

It is only fair to be sceptical about the Correa deal, it is a lot of money, - even in today’s market. The fact that this club hasn’t been known for splashing large sums on single players (bar Bonucci) in many years, makes the fee seem even higher.

Going by the numbers, he certainly doesn’t look prolific, but there are other factors that might have persuaded the management to bet big on Correa. He was the striker with the highest number of succesful tackles in La Liga last season, and even though that isn’t the main role of a striker typically, it does show that Correa is a tenacious player, quite the opposite of the offensive players that we are used to see on the field. Compared to the likes of Andre Silva, Cutrone, Piatek, Higuain and Kalinic, I assume that Correa will be a lot less static and predictable in terms of positioning and movement. 

His stats alone look bad to be honest, but as far as I have understood from Atletico fans, he has mainly been featuring as a sub and often been deployed out of his natural position, with Simeone seemingly unable to find the right position for him, even attempting to use him as a midfielder. It could be a case of a player who hasn’t found his right role yet, if the deal goes through we all have to hope so.

Which brings me to the management, they are taking a huge gamble here if they sign Correa for a reported club record fee of approximately €45M. Correa will in all likelihood be this club’s biggest signing this summer, and Maldini, Boban and Massara will be judged almost solely on whether or not this signing pays off. If they fail, every single doubtful fan has the right to question the abilities of M,B & M to lead this club, and I think that they are aware of how important this signing is. They have access to tons of in-depth analysis of Correa and I have to hope that they have seen something that the typical internet fan cannot. 

It is quite easy to point to other players of a similar or lower value, and who could look just as good on paper; 
Fekir went to Betis for €30M, Deulofeo (valued at €25M) has somewhat proven that he can perform in Serie A, Berardi (valued at €20M) is proven in Serie A, same age as Correa and much better stats, Orsolini was sold to Bologna for €15M and has even better stats than Berardi. 

From the outside it looks like we are grossly overpaying for Correa, and I have to assume that M, B and M knows this. I have to assume that they are aware of the expectations that will placed upon this signing, especially with all the talk of being frugal to comply with FFP. It didn’t look like we have been competing with anybody for Correa, and it seems fairly obvious that it would benefit Atletico to sell him, so it does look odd why we are in such a hurry to take him off their hands at a premium price and even pay him more than he has been earning in Spain (from €2,5M to €3,5M). 

I sincerely hope that M, B & M knows what they are doing, because they cannot afford to make mistakes at this price point with a questionable signing.

[nefremo]

It is quite easy to point to other players of a similar or lower value, and who could look just as good on paper; 
Fekir went to Betis for €30M, Deulofeo (valued at €25M) has somewhat proven that he can perform in Serie A, Berardi (valued at €20M) is proven in Serie A, same age as Correa and much better stats, Orsolini was sold to Bologna for €15M and has even better stats than Berardi. 

From those players, only Fekir has the characteristics to play Giampaolo's game, possibly as a AM/SS. The rest are just not a fit. Deulofeu is a traditional winger. Berardi is a Wide Forward in a way. Something between a CF and a wing, but good luck getting this guy to press or ppay centrally, or move away from his right touchline. Orsolini is average. 

We could buy cheap and HOPE it works out. Or we can identify an exact profile that we want, and overpay 5-10mil in order to have them.

I am so tired of taking players that don't quite fit the coach and then trying desperately to sell them when they don't work out. 

I also disagree that Maldini/Boban will be judged based on Correa. They'll be judged on overall results. If we end 2nd or 3rd, they'll be celebrated even if Correa doesn't work out. If we end 5th, they'll be attacked even if Correa scores 25 goals.

At the end of the day, Giampaolo's appointment is what will affect the opinion on Maldini/Boban the most. Giampaolo is what this team is being built for. It's so clear to see. So Giampaolo, directly and indirectly will have so much to do with how this season goes. Both for the team and obviously for the future of Maldini/Boban. They made their bet, and the chips (market strategy) are all on Giampaolo. We'll see how it works out.

[Nicolas]

From those players, only Fekir has the characteristics to play Giampaolo's game, possibly as a AM/SS. The rest are just not a fit. Deulofeu is a traditional winger. Berardi is a Wide Forward in a way. Something between a CF and a wing, but good luck getting this guy to press or ppay centrally, or move away from his right touchline. Orsolini is average. 

While I agree with you that most of those players wouldn’t be a completely natural fit for a AM/SS position, neither is Correa which was my original point. They are betting that his goal and assist ratios are deceivingly low, and that Giampaolo can unlock his true potential. The gamble here is that we are paying as if he has already proven himself, which he hasn’t.

I wouldn’t call Orsolini average though, he did well last season and at €15M it is a chance worth taking.

We could buy cheap and HOPE it works out. Or we can identify an exact profile that we want, and overpay 5-10mil in order to have them.

I didn’t advocate for buying cheap per say, but I will definitely say that now we are paying a premium and still hoping that it works out because his numbers are not convincing, and he has so far been unable to unleash the potential that he showed glimpses of at San Lorenzo. 
 

I also disagree that Maldini/Boban will be judged based on Correa. They'll be judged on overall results. If we end 2nd or 3rd, they'll be celebrated even if Correa doesn't work out. If we end 5th, they'll be attacked even if Correa scores 25 goals.

Their job is to give Giampaolo the best possible squad. The manager’s job to is to get the most out of the squad that he has. If Correa fails to make an impact, M, B & M should still rightly be criticised for indulging the manager in this way, as should Giampaolo for poor judgement.

[nefremo]

It's not about numbers. It's about fit. Correa absolutely, 100%, fits into Giampaolo's idea of football. He is dynamic, hard working, good on the ball, can play across the attacking line, direct and vertical, super high intensity offensively and defensively.

Again, this seems like a very pin-pointed signing. Clearly decision has been made to take this guy and even overpay if needed. Are we still hoping he worms out? Of course. As you said, it's not like he's lit the world on fire so far. But the fact is that he fits the type of squad we are building.
None of the other guys you mentioned do. We'd only be buying them because they are cheap. We've tried that approach, and it didn't work out. We've tried it several times.

All teansfers are going to be risks. As i said already....if we identify what we exactly need then that's fine, let's overpay by 5-10 especially if the market for those types of players is limited. I'd rather that then go for the cheap option that wasn't at all appreciated by the coach. Nothing to do with numbers. Strictly, fit into the system and idea of football.

[nefremo]

Their job is to give Giampaolo the best possible squad. The manager’s job to is to get the most out of the squad that he has. If Correa fails to make an impact, M, B & M should still rightly be criticised for indulging the manager in this way, as should Giampaolo for poor judgement.

The above is WAYYY, different then the below from your previous post...

"Which brings me to the management, they are taking a huge gamble here if they sign Correa for a reported club record fee of approximately €45M. Correa will in all likelihood be this club’s biggest signing this summer, and Maldini, Boban and Massara will be judged almost solely on whether or not this signing pays off. If they fail, every single doubtful fan has the right to question the abilities of M,B & M to lead this club, and I think that they are aware of how important this signing is. They have access to tons of in-depth analysis of Correa and I have to hope that they have seen something that the typical internet fan cannot."


At the end of the day...I don't totally disagree with you. It is true that we are overpaying and it is true that it's a gamble. I'm just ok with overpaying if this guy was chosen to be a complete fit to the system and Giampaolo's ideas. We'll see if it works out...

[reza]

Where is the indication of pin pointed? It may seem like I am being critical but I am curious.