Summer transfer window 2018

[ACMILAN1983]

I'm with Nicholas, there's pretty much no better addition we can make to the midfield than SMS, probably only Pogba. I'd be pretty much as happy with Rabiot.

[Sampinjon]

Overrated or not - he's way much better than anyone we currently have or anyone we're currently linked with.

[Arildonardo]

A Sky Sport journalist says they found no truth in the SMS rumours.

[WCmilan]

SMS is a good player but 100m? Are we joking here...

I think I would take Kovacic over Rabiot also.

[Nicolas]

SMS is a good player but 100m? Are we joking here...

Absolutely not, he is a freak of nature, a true winner and a real leader on the field. A price of €100M+ is inflated, so are the prices that clubs pay for every player these days. I still don’t believe for one second that we will get him, but if we did, we couldn’t ask for a better player. Kovacic is a damn fine midfielder, but I’d take SMS any day of the week.

[ACMILAN1983]

A Sky Sport journalist says they found no truth in the SMS rumours.

Yeah, Gattuso also said Vidal was supposedly too expensive, so curb expectations.

SMS is a good player but 100m? Are we joking here... 

I think I would take Kovacic over Rabiot also.

It's the market we live in today, prices are inflated in this way and there will be teams out there prepared to meet that price if they end up with the need to sign a top midfielder (e.g. United sell Pogba to Juve and want a replacement). SMS last season was arguably the best player in Serie A and put in performances and posted numbers that haven't been seen by a midfielder in the league since Pogba at Juve (when he was arguably the best midfielder in the world).

We're also in a time when clubs are prepared to spend as much on potential as they are on peak performing players. That's why in this market Caldara is valuated the same as Bonucci (well, that and how it worked for both clubs financially) and why Morata is the same price (if not more) than Higuain and Immobile.

In terms of SMS, theoretically he has pretty much every quality we're lacking in midfield to essentially replace Bonaventura and take us to the next level. He's got incredible qualities as physically he's huge, but he's got super feet and technical quality. It's also what made Pogba so special, Rabiot also has it and in the past guys like Rijkaard were also similar (not role, but in terms of being complete). The thing about SMS is that he's arguably got a higher ceiling than Pogba, because he's arguably better technically and seems to be stronger mentally.

In terms of Rabiot and Kovacic. I've said many times I'm a big fan of Kovacic and think he's a top player, but I do think Rabiot's on a different level and is potentially phenomenal. His biggest issues are he seems a difficult personality to manage and his agent (mum) is a nightmare. It might be seen as blasphemy to many, but I'd honestly even consider taking him ahead of Verratti.

Edit: Many are pointing to the World Cup with SMS disappointing, but honestly speaking Serbia in general were a massive letdown in the competition so I wouldn't put too much stock in it. What is vital though is Gattuso studies carefully how to get the best out of him, because like Pogba, it might be a challenge to give SMS the right role to allow him to perform at his best.

[AC_Troy]

Aww is Roma gonna try to blitz us for Samassekou?

Savic is worth 100m. If you don't think he is then you didn't watch much Lazio last season and/or don't understand football

[hwmook]

SMS is a good player but 100m? Are we joking here...

I think I would take Kovacic over Rabiot also.

If Morata is worth over 60M then yes SMS is worth 100M IMO. That is the kind of market we are looking at, even Rugani is worth 50M.

[AC_Troy]

According to Gazzetta dello sport, Inter have joined Milan in the race for Brazilian winger Bernard

[WCmilan]

Yeah, Gattuso also said Vidal was supposedly too expensive, so curb expectations.



It's the market we live in today, prices are inflated in this way and there will be teams out there prepared to meet that price if they end up with the need to sign a top midfielder (e.g. United sell Pogba to Juve and want a replacement). SMS last season was arguably the best player in Serie A and put in performances and posted numbers that haven't been seen by a midfielder in the league since Pogba at Juve (when he was arguably the best midfielder in the world).

We're also in a time when clubs are prepared to spend as much on potential as they are on peak performing players. That's why in this market Caldara is valuated the same as Bonucci (well, that and how it worked for both clubs financially) and why Morata is the same price (if not more) than Higuain and Immobile.

In terms of SMS, theoretically he has pretty much every quality we're lacking in midfield to essentially replace Bonaventura and take us to the next level. He's got incredible qualities as physically he's huge, but he's got super feet and technical quality. It's also what made Pogba so special, Rabiot also has it and in the past guys like Rijkaard were also similar (not role, but in terms of being complete). The thing about SMS is that he's arguably got a higher ceiling than Pogba, because he's arguably better technically and seems to be stronger mentally.

In terms of Rabiot and Kovacic. I've said many times I'm a big fan of Kovacic and think he's a top player, but I do think Rabiot's on a different level and is potentially phenomenal. His biggest issues are he seems a difficult personality to manage and his agent (mum) is a nightmare. It might be seen as blasphemy to many, but I'd honestly even consider taking him ahead of Verratti.

Edit: Many are pointing to the World Cup with SMS disappointing, but honestly speaking Serbia in general were a massive letdown in the competition so I wouldn't put too much stock in it. What is vital though is Gattuso studies carefully how to get the best out of him, because like Pogba, it might be a challenge to give SMS the right role to allow him to perform at his best.

I haven't followed SMS much, I'll watch a few videos maybe it'll change my mind. I thought he was around 26/27 years old but just realized he's only 23. Could be a good move, but I feel 100m could open a lot of options for us and I'd study the market before offering that type of money for him. Then again, it's true that the market is very inflated and we've seen down the years buying Bertolacci, Biglia you can get close to 100m in spending and not have one quality midfielder to show for it. If he truly is as talented as everyone is saying he is, then I agree on the move. 

Rabiot is probably more of what we need in this team, but I enjoy watching Kovacic more. I would also take Rabiot ahead of Verratti at the moment. In my opinion, Verratti has really hit a plateau lately. I'm not sure if he's lacking the challenge, unmotivated or simply hit a lower ceiling than what we expected, but he hasn't impressed me lately.

There are also quality guarantees like Vidal who just went to Barca for 30mln euros. I feel as though we need to make moves to get into champions league & some quality experience is a necessity to do so. Once we're in champions league it'll be a lot easier to acquire top players both financially and they'll be more willing to come. I'd be going for Modric right now if he's truly open to leaving.

If we do buy Savic though, I just hope it works out that's all. Belotti could've been a 100m+ move for us last year, but we dodged a bullet. Same age, same hype. Belotti was on top of the world that season, I thought he was the next Sheva. All I'm saying is, we're not really in a position to spend a ton of money on a player that had one fantastic season, but if we do I'll still support him.