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AC Milan close in on Cassano - reports
28.12 || webmaster

Football Italia

Antonio Cassano is close to joining Milan on a loan deal in January, according to the latest reports in Spain.

The Bari-born striker is near to ending his unfortunate adventure with the Galacticos and Rossoneri officials are allegedly in Madrid to finalise the details of the deal which would bring the former Azzurri man to the San Siro.

The Spanish giants do not intend to accept the player’s indiscipline any longer and are willing to accept less than the £3.5m invested in January to bring the striker to the Santiago Bernabeu.

If the two clubs should reach an agreement, Cassano might move immediately to Milan on a loan deal until the end of the season, with an option to buy him for £3.2m at the end of the term.

The only obstacle which might now prevent the transfer could be represented by Real Madrid’s repeated attempts to bring Kaka to Spain. If the Merengues were to ask for an option on the Brazilian player to be included in the agreement the negotiation would be interrupted.

In the meantime, Leandro Grimi is expected to land in Milan on Thursday, where he will sign a five-year contract.

The 21-year-old Argentine, who arrives with the added bonus of an EU passport, grew up in the Huracan youth team before moving to Racing Avellaneda this year, when he was voted as the best young player in the Apertura tournament.

“Joining an important club like Milan is a dream come true, I am very happy,” stated Grimi before leaving Argentina.

And he(Ramos) apparently rejected a move here.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...ia/dec29d.html

Originally Posted by Mystik

And he(Ramos) apparently rejected a move here.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...ia/dec29d.html

don't you mean: and she apparently rejected...

good observation

According to today's ITV news (http://www.itv-football.co.uk/CL_Sto...3155,00.html):

"Milan confirm Oddo capture

AC Milan will sign Massimo Oddo from Lazio in January and intend to strengthen their squad even further, says vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Despite entering contract negotiations with Lazio, the defender is expected to move on during the transfer window as talks are far from reaching any conclusion.

Galliani is quoted as saying: "In January we will sign Oddo and beyond him another defender. Indeed, if the market allows us, we won't stop there."

The Rossoneri have also been linked with a move for Internacional's promising 17 year-old striker Alexandre Pato.

"Milan has a Brazilian spirit and we intend for that to continue," commented Galliani on the speculation."

Is it another lie, or are we really buying Oddo?

Not sure how authentic that quote from Galliani but that was in the news in Italy several days ago ... nohing new really, and more importantly, nothing factual about it, yet.

here's another one about oddo from channel 4

Oddo man out
Friday 29 December, 2006
Massimo Oddo looks set to leave Lazio after Coach Delio Rossi admitted the skipper can leave if he is unhappy.

The right-back, a World Cup winner this summer, has been linked with a Milan switch for a while now – and it could finally go through in January.

“I hope Massimo stays with us because I believe he has a future with this team,” stated Rossi. “But I believe that we shouldn’t keep a player who wants to move away.

“By me Oddo should end his career with Lazio because he is our idol. But if he goes to Milan we will do without him.

“We didn’t want to sell anyone, but if a player asks to go then a team needs to look for a replacement.”

Lazio President Claudio Lotito is likely to accept Milan’s offer of Pasquale Foggia plus £4m in the next few days.

Regardless of his skipper’s future, Rossi is already looking ahead to the New Year – and there could be a surprise arrival in the pipeline.

“I expect a lot from Valon Behrami, who has a great talent but was stopped by an injury,” insisted the Coach.

“I have also got a sympathy for Antonio Cassano, but maybe that’s because I have never been his boss!”

With an extra £4m set to be added to the transfer budget, could we see the Brat from Bari back in Rome with his former side’s hated neighbours?

well, better late than never.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/footba...ia/dec29j.html

now reports indicate that Belletti is the more likely arrival... instead of Oddo...

What i can't understand about Lazio is why would they sell their best player to Milan, in January allready for 6 M Euro only.
I remember Zlatanov said Oddo's contract expires in 6 months, so yes, it's logical Lazio would like to cash something on him.
But what's not logical is why would they sell him for 4-8 M Euro, to their greatest rival for the 4th place.
Lazio still has 5 pts and match at home against Milan as their advantage. If they sell Oddo to Milan, they can say bye bye to the 4th place and they'll certanly lose the money from the eventual CL Campaign 2007/08 ( they'll lose much more than what they'll get for Oddo).

So, Lazio's options are :
a) Sell Oddo for, lets say, 6 M Euro, and certanly lose the chance for 4th place.
b) Don't sell Oddo, keep their chances for 4th place and bigger money from CL, but certanly lose the money from Oddo.

This may as well be the reason why both teams can't come out with a deal.


I guess Lazio's president is trying to get something like this :
C) Sell Oddo, lose the chances for CL, but get good money that will cover the potential money taken from their potential appearance in the CL next season. And by good money he probably means over 10 M Euro.

As you can see ( according to the price Lazio is asking for Oddo) , Lazio is trying to get something in between.
They have some 20 M Euro waiting for them if they get into CL, for what they'll need Oddo ( But it's a 40-60 chance).
And they have certain 6 M Euro if they sell Oddo now.

So, the question is will they take the risk, lose the 6 M and play for 20 M. Or they won't risk to lose everything and they'll take the 6 M they have in their hands.
It all depends on how much of a gambler Lazio's president is, imo !

it would be a bit of gamble to go with losing 6-10 (this is roughly how much Oddo will cost Milan in terms of pure cash + a player) for sure and go with a really stretched chance of getting a CL spot.

True, qualifying for CL groups, if they qualify that is , would bring Lazio somewhere around 15-20 mil but right now anything other than 4th spot looks unlikely and for that last CL spot there are a whole bunch of teams fighting - Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina, Udinese, Samp, and many other smaller teams like Catania, which have been having a great campaign so far.

Chances are that, as Serie A progresses, the number of teams fighting for 4th place will come down to Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina, and maybe Samp.
Lazio are in this fight thanks largely to a great run of form, which will soon turn into a string of less convincing/average results as a team's perfomance do vary in ups and downs over an entire season and soon merely staying in the contest for 4th spot will become increasingly more difficult.

That's why I think Lotito has made up his mind already once it became clear that, with that salary cap policy at Lazio, they won't be able to keep Oddo and extend his contract ... right now it's just that moment of "let's see how much more I can get from them" moment, which is part of any negotiation process.

I'm not sure why you think Lazio are Milan's strongest contenders for 4th place, I would expect Fiorentina to eventually overtake Lazio in the table.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

right now it's just that moment of "let's see how much more I can get from them" moment, which is part of any negotiation process.

Most probably.
But i won't be suprised if the negotiations last until January 21st, and then the final decission will be made. ( Lazio-Milan match is on January 21), or maybe even after January 28th when they play Palermo away, and many things may change if they get 4pts from these 2 matches.

I watched Lazio at least 10 times this season ( people here are crazy about Pandev ) , and i disagree a bit with your opinion that they used their momentum and they had a great run of form which will fall sooner or later. Despite Liverani leaving a huge hole in midfield, Lazio still has the 5th best team in Serie A ( Milan, Inter, Roma, Fiorentina in front of them, Palermo on par, imo ) . But that's Lazio with Oddo that has the 5th best team in A. Lazio will always be able to beat the smaller teams home/away, and they have the advantage of playing at home against all of their rivals for 4th place ( Milan, Fiorentina,Sampdoria).
I believe almost everything depends on their result against Milan. If they beat you, they have 8pts advantage and much better schedule then your team does. That's why i think they might wait until late January and see what they will do with Oddo.
Although,from the reports i read, chances for this to happen are smaller than the chances to sell you Oddo in early January.

We'll see

I see your point but after that lazio-Milan game there would still be half a season ahead of the teams and that too long a time, you know ... way too many things could happen/change and I am not sure lotito would miss on a sure 10 mil or so because of things might seem like on and a little after Jan 21st.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

I see your point but after that lazio-Milan game there would still be half a season ahead of the teams and that too long a time, you know ... way too many things could happen/change and I am not sure lotito would miss on a sure 10 mil or so because of things might seem like on and a little after Jan 21st.

Absolutely , and i share your opinion that's what Lotito will do.
Just that, i was putting myself in his place . I would take the risk and wait until January 21st. If "we" don't beat Milan, we sell them Oddo. If we beat them i'll take the risk and try to use the advantage of 8pts, no european matches and better schedule, despite the disadvantage of having much weaker team than Milan does and the fact there will be 18 whole matches to be played until the end of the season.
That's a great chance Lazio will have if they beat you. Maybe the last chance to finally get out of the awful financial situation they are in.
But i ain't no bussinesman and Lotito is. And i don't care about Lazio, while he does. So whatever he does, he'll do it for the best of his club.
And it looks like he'll sell Oddo to Milan in a matter of days, so don't pay atention to my crazy theories

Talking about Oddo, you need him badly... Your RB position sucks, and he would make it much better... And would fit in your stile of play...