Summer mercato 2015

[ElMago99]

Juventus no doubt will not be the same team they've been the past few years. I don't even think Tevez was the player he was previously for Man City and Man Utd.
Nonetheless, they should have bought Verratti (When they could have) as a Pirlo replacement.

All in all, we shouldn't so much worry about Juventus. There are 8 other teams ahead of us last year. Also, we should always look to get to UCL, and do well within that tournament. To do that, we need more than what's been discussed here, but Ibra, Romagnoli, and a midfielder would be a start.

[ZvonimirBoban]

I can't see us not buying a big player after all the talk of the sale......Bee, "we will spend whatever is needed to bring Milan back to the top", "Milan will be back competing for the scudetto", etc, etc.

TALK. That's the key point. Until mercato finished and we actually buying superstars, then it will be just exactly same as previous years: all talk and bullshit by Galliani co.

[xudong]

I can't see us not buying a big player after all the talk of the sale......Bee, "we will spend whatever is needed to bring Milan back to the top", "Milan will be back competing for the scudetto", etc, etc.

TALK. That's the key point. Until mercato finished and we actually buying superstars, then it will be just exactly same as previous years: all talk and bullshit by Galliani co.

To be fair though, Milan this year has been different compared to the past few. We have at least made a few big purchases before July is even over, which would have been unthinkable in the past summers.

[nefremo]

Yes, normally I would agree that it's just talk. However we have already spent 58mil. There is a bid of 25mil out there for Romagnoli and that's been publicly confirmed. If it happens, that's going to be close to 75mil spent. That's already a ver very significant investment for one summer. Now whether we should've spent this money another way is subjective, but there's also that problem that we are coming back from a few years of mediocrity and multiple other internal problems, no CL, etc....so I'm not even sure if there WAS another way to spend this money keeping in mind that we now have to convince players to come here.

Looking at all this, to go back to the Jackson Martinez/Kondogbia cases.......it's a little gratifying to know that we can have Bacca, Adriano, Bertolacci, Romagnoli all for the same price. Much better business I think. Also, knowing that we were going to spend 75mil on a midfielder and a striker BUT also knowing that we were going to need a defender and spend more on one means that we had a lot more then 75mil to spend to begin with....if that makes any sense....which is another reason to make me think that there is at least 100mil in the transfer case this summer. Basically, we were prepared to go Jackson+Kondogbia+Romagnoli for 100mil. We now we have Bacca+Adriano+Bertolacci+Romagnoli possibly for 75mil.....so where is the other 25mil difference???.....Gundogan?

[WCmilan]

By my previous post, by pointing out that juve lost Pirlo,Vidal,Tevez etc, and replaced them with Mandzukic,Khedira and whatnot, I didn't intend that it wasn't another winning cycle, for all I know they could very well be starting a new cycle and do well. HOWEVER, they've lost huge pieces of the core of their team. They wont have the chemistry they did, and especially considering their midfield being the anchor of the team, energetic and great at playing the ball, it kept together a strong defensive unit.

So my point is, while they may still be a group of really good players, they also have a lot of new players to integrate, and that's where we can play catch up. This is what gives us the chance to win the scudetto next season, but we too need a group of fantastic players, which I believe we can do if the money is really there.

Romagnoli will be a good signing, but I think we need a second defender to be honest. Garay+Romagnoli would be very good plus Ibra. Then just a midfielder, but someone like Gundogan. I'm not so sure Witsel is what we need.

Completely agree with nefremo, and I understand what you meant. If we were planning to spend 100m, we know its there.
I don't think it's fair to say that our mercato has been all talk, but given the past 5 years you could never be sure. Like has already been mentioned though, we've already spent about 60mln euros, and we've overpaid for all our transfer targets imho. It shows that we have the money, we wanted Bacca and Sevilla didn't want to sell, they had a lot going for them. We paid his buyout, full price. We pretty much gave away Rami, we paid 20mln euros for Bertolacci because he was a crucial piece to Genoa and they wouldnt let him go. Then, we could have waited till January to pick up Adriano but paid 8mln euros to get him sooner. We have an offer of 25mln euros on the table for Romagnoli, this already shows about 75mln euros spent. It's not hard to believe that we have another 50 to spend. Another 25mln on a midfielder, another 15-20 on another defender, and then Ibra will probably come free. Apparently he'll be let go after the french supercup.

-----------Bacca-------------Adriano--------------
---------------------Ibra---------------------------
---Bertolacci------Gundogan-----Mauri----------
-DS--------Romagnoli---Garay----------Abate--
--------------------Lopez--------------------------

Subs like Cerci,Honda,Niang,Mexes,Zapata,Bonaventura,Montolivo,De Jong... Good depth, and a fantastic starting 11.
I put Ibra as a CF/CAM. The idea of it sort of interests me, normally Ibra likes to pick the ball up from deep, and his passing ability is also superb and underrated imo. I know having those three upfront doesnt really make sense on paper for any typical formation, but what we'd have there is three clinical goalscorers, all of which score 25+goals per season. While not a traditional tactical setup, I think it will still work. As long as our midfield does their job.

TBH, I'd love if we bought Gotze. 30m is a steal, and he'll slot right into our CAM position.

[Jay Crisp]

I don't buy "suddenly we have money to spend, so we'll conquer everything again". The cancer of this club, namely Berlusconi and Galliani, are still here. No matter what amount of money you entrust to Galliani, he will always find a way to screw up things. Selling SES and Rami for peanuts? What next, De Sciglio? Mastour?

Rami was sold for €3.5m he was bought for €4m he didnt get better and is going on 30 and it was a sweetner for Bacca whos fee will be spread over a few years and a not a lump sum.

€16m for SES if Monaco buy him you say peanuts ? A forward with 4 goals 3 assists in 31 months over 2.5 yrs a guy thats been massively disappointing since The Dec break in 2012.What would you want €40m.

Yes SES had injurys but he had none Dec 2012 to Sept 2013 2 goals.
He was declared fit April 2014 then had until Sept 2014 with full pre season to get lehit fully fit , bar the first 2 games of last season again was massively disappointing.This is a player that was spoken in the same ilk as Neymar Gotze Aguero 3/4 years ago , our future.He turned out to have a wicked 4 months in 2012 other than that hes been average below average a lot of the time.Im no Galliani supporter not even a bit , but those deals do not bother me at all.

[Mystik]

I don't want to come across as negative or as a downer but I think talk of a top three finish (even IF we sign Romagnoli) is crazy. I know silly season is the time for us to get a bit crazy. Who are we going to knock out of the top three? Certainly not Juventus. So that leaves us fighting with Napoli, Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Inter for two spots. All this with a coach in his first year at the club along with 5+ brand new signings who need time to gel and adjust to a new environment, level, and expectations.

If we sign an Ibra-calibre player, perhaps we can talk about top 3 but I wouldn't say it's a foregone conclusion. Else I think we're a bit too optimistic with our expectations. I'd be fine if we integrated some youngsters, finished in the EL spot and built from there next season. I think that's a more realistic goal. Going from 10th to top three requires all the stars to align perfectly in our favour.

[ACMILAN1983]

Something's definitely changed in Italy this summer with the way clubs are spending and looking to rebuild. Our spending wasn't too unpredictable, given we knew there was investment coming in with Silvio selling shares.

However, I never guessed Inter would be as aggressive as they have been, I didn't think Juve would be making the changes they are doing and it feels like other big players, like Roma and especially Napoli are just waiting for their mercato to unlock to really go massive. I believe Serie A has been the highest spending league in Europe this summer so far, which is a big surprise given recent years.

However, to cover points both made by Mystik and WCMilan, I think other teams in Serie A are going through a similar, albeit often less extreme, process to us in rebuilding. I think we'll see a much more balanced league this coming season, although it'll be extremely hard to topple Juve, who I think still hold an advantage and despite losing some big players, have reinforced very well. I expect Milan to be fighting for a EL spot this season and with the correct investments in the next month, fighting for top 3. It will be difficult and a lot will depend on how well Mihajlovic performs, but the way things have been heading so far, I think we can look ahead with optimism this season. I also think the other teams face challenges, here's some examples for competitors:

- Juve: They have lost some critical players in Pirlo, Tevez and Vidal. However, their work in getting players like Dybala and Khedira, never mind that they look set to replace Vidal by a huge name and the reinforcements of planning ahead with guys like Rugani really means they've seen this summer as an opportunity to rebuild for the next generation. Honestly, I think Juve may not be as strong as the last few years with the changes, but I can see them becoming even more competitive in the long run if the signings work out.

- Roma: Honestly, I think Roma are in a difficult position more than most. They've been working towards reinforcing the key areas they struggled in last season (attack), but otherwise it looks like they won't be significantly different to last year. I see them fighting for top 3, but they showed signs of weakness last season and I think they'll find it more difficult with more competition this season.

- Lazio: I really don't think they can replicate the form of last year. I see them fighting for a top 6 spot, but really I don't see them doing anything that makes me think they'll achieve particularly greater results.

- Fiorentina: They've had a change of coach (and Sousa isn't exactly prove) and until now haven't done anything special on the market. Some might view the Suarez and Savic swap as a big deal assuming it goes through, but where they reinforce in midfield, they lose a starting CB.

- Inter: I see them a lot like Milan, with the same level of optimism and similar risk. They're buying big and at the least I expect them to challenge for the top 6, potentially top 3.

I wouldn't worry too much by what other teams are doing right now though. We should focus on our mercato and ensure we get our targets. Doing that will mean we will be very competitive for the new season.

[Milanista87]

Roma can be a serious scudetto contender if they sign Romero, Left back(Baba or Adriano), Salah and Dzeko. They want all of them. Strootman will come back too. i see them in top 3, biggest scudetto contender with Juve.

İnter, Montoya, Miranda, Murillo and Kondogbia are good signings for them. it seems LB, Jovetic and Perisic will arrive too. i see them in top 5, possible in top 3.

Napoli, They solved their biggest problem, they now have Valdifiori and Allan in double pivot. Pretty good signing. i think they still need a RB and CB. if they sign them, i see them in top 5, possible top 3.

Lazio, its better to talk after i saw their investments. i see them in top 6 at minumum.

Milan, with Romagnoli, i see us fighting for a EL place. if Witsel and İbra, maybe top 3. not guaranteed one. if we add a solid CB and a quality regista, it will be guaranteed top 3 and serious scudetto contender.

[ElMago99]

By my previous post, by pointing out that juve lost Pirlo,Vidal,Tevez etc, and replaced them with Mandzukic,Khedira and whatnot, I didn't intend that it wasn't another winning cycle, for all I know they could very well be starting a new cycle and do well. HOWEVER, they've lost huge pieces of the core of their team. They wont have the chemistry they did, and especially considering their midfield being the anchor of the team, energetic and great at playing the ball, it kept together a strong defensive unit.

So my point is, while they may still be a group of really good players, they also have a lot of new players to integrate, and that's where we can play catch up. This is what gives us the chance to win the scudetto next season, but we too need a group of fantastic players, which I believe we can do if the money is really there.

Romagnoli will be a good signing, but I think we need a second defender to be honest. Garay+Romagnoli would be very good plus Ibra. Then just a midfielder, but someone like Gundogan. I'm not so sure Witsel is what we need.

Completely agree with nefremo, and I understand what you meant. If we were planning to spend 100m, we know its there.
I don't think it's fair to say that our mercato has been all talk, but given the past 5 years you could never be sure. Like has already been mentioned though, we've already spent about 60mln euros, and we've overpaid for all our transfer targets imho. It shows that we have the money, we wanted Bacca and Sevilla didn't want to sell, they had a lot going for them. We paid his buyout, full price. We pretty much gave away Rami, we paid 20mln euros for Bertolacci because he was a crucial piece to Genoa and they wouldnt let him go. Then, we could have waited till January to pick up Adriano but paid 8mln euros to get him sooner. We have an offer of 25mln euros on the table for Romagnoli, this already shows about 75mln euros spent. It's not hard to believe that we have another 50 to spend. Another 25mln on a midfielder, another 15-20 on another defender, and then Ibra will probably come free. Apparently he'll be let go after the french supercup.

-----------Bacca-------------Adriano--------------
---------------------Ibra---------------------------
---Bertolacci------Gundogan-----Mauri----------
-DS--------Romagnoli---Garay----------Abate--
--------------------Lopez--------------------------

Subs like Cerci,Honda,Niang,Mexes,Zapata,Bonaventura,Montolivo,De Jong... Good depth, and a fantastic starting 11.
I put Ibra as a CF/CAM. The idea of it sort of interests me, normally Ibra likes to pick the ball up from deep, and his passing ability is also superb and underrated imo. I know having those three upfront doesnt really make sense on paper for any typical formation, but what we'd have there is three clinical goalscorers, all of which score 25+goals per season. While not a traditional tactical setup, I think it will still work. As long as our midfield does their job.

TBH, I'd love if we bought Gotze. 30m is a steal, and he'll slot right into our CAM position.

Ibra too static for Trequartista. The position is an offensive one, but required help in midfield and movement. Gotze would be phenomenal, but again, they didn't acquire Honda for nothing..they will use him and expect him to be a top trequartista...

---------------------Ibra-----Bacca (L Adriano)--------
------------------------Honda------------------------
-----Witsel/Gundogan--------Bertolacci--------------
----------------------Montolivo/Mauri-------------------
Antonelli-----------------------------------------De Sciglio
------------------Romagnoli----Alex/Garay/Maksimovic/Mexes----------
-----------------------------Lopez------------------------------------------

Bold is most likely starter