Summer mercato 2015

[Sputnik]

I'll be amazed if we spend 30m on Romagnoli, I don't think the club will go for that, nor do I think El Shaarawy will be sacrificed (I think he will have one more season in Milan to determine his future).

However, I can see us having to spend around 40m to get both. In my opinion, Bertolacci's worth 15m in today's market, but Milan have to overpay to get players right now, so 20m isn't particularly out of the ordinary. Roma won't let youth players go for cheap, especially as these are players they could feasibly use to strengthen their squad (not necessarily first team). Romagnoli again is probably worth 10-15m, mostly because it's hard to find young quality Italian CBs right now, but again Roma won't sell to Milan for cheap, so I wouldn't be surprised if the club has to pay around 20m to get him. At a fair market price, these two should cost around 25-30m, but right now that's unrealistic.

Bertolacci's a technical midfielder who can play as trequartista, mezzala and regista. His strengths are his passing and ability to direct games, while he's got a decent left foot to shoot from distance. He's also well known for his ability to press opponents and win the ball back high up the pitch.

Romagnoli is probably the best young (under 23) Italian CB after Rugani today. He's another Roma youth product, but has had a breakthrough season at Sampdoria (under Mihajlovic). He's got a decent reading of the game, meaning he intercepts a fair number of through balls and is good in the tackle with his timing. He's also got reasonable pace, he's not fast, but won't be easily beaten by pace. I think he can still improve in areas, his marking can be a little better (not to say it's bad though) and I think on the ball he's not particularly great (something Rugani or Laporte are well known for).

However, if there's a fair chance to get him, I'd go for him without too much hesitation. Laporte is probably better right now imo, but I can imagine he'll also cost more to get. I also think with the Italian foundations being built at Milan, he'd be a good fit.

These investments aren't just about building for instant success, but would be long term investments for the club to build foundations for a successful new generation.

Thanks, mate.