Bonucci rumor came and was signed within 2 days. I'm amazed it happened. Bonucci/Romagnoli partnership for next 4 years is World Class. Musacchio as backup is great OR as a back 3 with RR/Conti on wings is fantastic. Speed mixed with next wave + Bonucci the captain directing everything is amazing. Biglia signing is quality as well. Kessie/Biglia is upgrade over Montolivo/Kucka( tho I loved him). Rumors are we are trying to get Renato Sanches from Munich on loan with option to buy. Munich is looking to loan Sanches since they are loaded at midfield and Sanches' agent is Mendes who is Andre Silva's agent who has been working well with Milan SO maybe that as well. Belotti/Aubameyang/Belotti are also in works perhaps. Unbelievable. What a time to be alive. I love it
so it sounds like there are 4 strikers we're looking at now: pe aubameyang, andrea belotti, nikola kalinic, and alvaro morata. and we still have bacca, lapadula, and new boy andre silva in the stable. who would be the best fit for what this team needs? who knows. it's overwhelming to try to pick a best 11 with all the new players we have so trying to pick which of these 4 guys would be best is impossible. the more i think about it, the more i'd prefer morata or belotti. that's mostly due to their age at this point (24 and 23, respectively). it seems like morata is a finished product while belotti still has room to improve. if we're going to spend big, i'd like it to be on someone who can be around for the long term. it surprised me that auba is already 28. kalinic is 29. cost surely becomes a factor at this point right? we've already spent 200M. whichever way they go, there will be real competition for the spot or spots at the top of the 11. that's not something we've had in years. in the back, the team picks itself, but up top and in midfield there are real questions, especially if the renato sanches rumours become a reality. exciting times.
I've wanted PEA to come back for awhile, but I didn't realize he was 28. 70mil plus 10mil/year contract is steep for a guy who is on the backend of his career. Morata/Belotti are 24/23 and will cost the same amount and prob beginning of prime. Morata has proven to be a goal scorer, especially in Serie A, but also has international experience. Belotti is also a proven goal scorer but can he handle the next step? Which is better for the team and exposure? Also, we signed Silva who seem to be a "pure #9", so we need a fwd who will compliment him when 2 forwards play up top, or will Silva be the back up? I almost don' think we need another CF. No disrespect to the 3 of them but Silva is a quality guy and I don't mind him starting, but my choice would be Belotti. Madrid want too much, Morata wants too much per year. I feel like Belotti is the cheaper option AND would be equal in quality. But like you said, exciting times.
Originally I was all in for Auba but after Bonucci and a few days of rumors I think that Morata/Belotti is a much better option long term. If it was me I would try and get Belotti. He has a good Serie A scoring record (16/17:26g - 15/16:12g) in his last 2 seasons. You will get a proven league scorer who can hopefully shoulder more of the load as Silva develops. Then in a few years you have (hopefully if they pan out) two strikers of a very high quality, playing for high profile national teams, on the squad to help navigate the league/Europe. Plus you still have homegrown players like Cutrone who could become reliable players for the squad in the future. I agree and would rank them the same as to preference 1. Belotti 2. Morata 3. Auba
Di Marzio is saying that Belotti is target number one, I hope that's true would be a great final piece. http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/mila...meyang-chelsea-ahead-for-morata-the-situation
I mean yes technically you're right but the fans treated him very poorly at the end and hell we got Bonucci in return so unless he becomes Marcelo (not likely) its a wash long term. Plus Milan, Juve, and Inter do business with each other semi regularly so its not like an unprecedented move. Still sucks though hate to see a homegrown player go to Juve.
i've never been very high on mds, but bringing in conti and rodriguez takes any sting that could have been felt out of it. there's no question that we've massively upgraded our back line even with the little punk's departure. long may he ride the bench at juve. ETA: actually if mds is playing consistently for juve, maybe that's good news for us. he's definitely not an upgrade on dani alves or alex sandro on their flanks last season. i guess time will tell.
Here's an alright read about our summer. Not the greatest but I'm not gonna complain too much, hard enough to find stuff to read about Serie A in english as is let alone Milan. https://theringer.com/soccer-ac-milan-juventus-leonardo-bonucci-summer-transfer-window-8608d325200e
morata to chelsea is official pending medical and personal terms. chelsea posted that though so it's good as done. so morata and auba are off the market. that leaves belotti if we're still in the market for another striker.
it's better than this: http://deadspin.com/ac-milan-are-back-from-the-grave-1797026414 i agree though, it's nice to see some acm coverage on non-soccer sports sites.
THE RETURN OF MR. X!!! It wouldn't be a summer mercato without him. Fassone: “Will it be Belotti, Kalinic or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? There could be another figure, a Mr X…” http://www.football-italia.net/106096/fassone-‘one-more-big-signing-milan’
Fassone: "This is a very good squad, we’re just missing the icing on the cake. That, in any case, will be an excellent, top-level signing."
It's really remarkable that a team which signed so many guys I can't pick a favorite is looking for the icing on the cake signing. Biglia/Kessie are gonna be the glue of this team, while Conti/RR upgraded our fullbacks drastically. Not to mention Silva and Calhanglu are very promising while Bonucci is the leader of next wave. Supposedly Aubameyang is back on market after he expressed desire to leave to come to Milan. I feel like Belotti is gonna stay at Torino because they aren't budging. I'd love Silva off the bench especially if we splash on PEA. PEA is that "star" factor even tho theres probably 3 or 4 other guys who we signed who will be more "important". Also, perhaps Mirabelli/Fassone have a secret they will pounce on at the end of the market. An offer so great that it'll only take one phone call to get the deal done and no rumors. Wasn't Bale Mr. X once? Also, Renato Sanches would be pretty awesome to get on loan.
reports state milan are in london to bring mr. x home. there are links to diego costa. he's a petulant twat, but he knows how to bang in the goals. this could be a good piece of business too. his price has to be bottomed out at this point with atleti unable to take him until january and chelsea having replaced him with morata. even if he's only here for a season, we could use him and turn a profit when he inevitably returns to atleti.