Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

The timing is irrelevant. Our window is to be judged by the composition of the squad at the end of the transfer period. There is emotional resonance in the timing perhaps but all that matters is how it affects us on the pitch in the upcoming season.

If you look at the top squads in European football, the general standard is 4-5 recognised central defenders. It has been made clear that Sinisa wants at least one central defenderi. Whether he trusts Ely has not yet been established, it's still to be seen whether he'll go out on loan or stay with the squad.

So in our finished squad we can say there'll be at least one new arrival with four of our current options beside them. For argument's sake we'll say there's the possibility of a second new arrival in which case we must choose three of our current options to act as reserves.

We thus have the choice of Alex, Mexes, Paletta, Zapata, Zaccardo, Albertazzi, Ely and Vergara.

Albertazzi is absolutely inadequate at CB. He's been poor for us whenever used there, even in friendlies. He's a passable LB but we can't go into the new season expecting him to get many minutes in the centre and he should leave.

Ely and Vergara have no Serie A experience but neither did Romagnoli or Rugani prior to last season and they are now highly sought after in Europe. The ultimate call must be Mihjalovic's but there's been no real indication he is going to rely upon them.

Zaccardo's a train wreck and the only reason he's still around is that no one wants him, at least no one willing to pay him as much as we will.

Zapata's inadequate but there are worse reserves floating around. Not better than Alex, Mexes or Paletta however and could be used to raise a bit of cash. He must surely leave in search of playing time in any case lest he lose his spot for Colombia.

The only two defenders we have that are comparable to Mexes are Paletta and Alex. The former most seem happy to retain whilst the latter may well leave, hopefully raising some funds. So what is the big fuss about Mexes renewing? He's on a fairly standard contract, costs nothing and will simply be around to act as a reserve and compete for time with a new, younger arrival. If we brought no one else in then I'd be very disappointed with our prospective back four however there is still a long time yet in which to bring in players.

We need to retain some experienced heads at the back. Both Alex and Mexes are 33 so I don't see why we're choosing to differentiate between them. I only want one to stay, in addition to Paletta and given that Alex is on a larger contract and can be used to raise funds, I'd prefer to see him move on. Either way, this should be the last contract for both at Milan.

Nobody's gonna make a thread for SES?

Dos, perhaps in a normal club Mexes would be fine as 4th choice, but our club has a serious and entrenched cultural problem when it comes to transfers: Most reasonable clubs will get rid of players who are of limited use. We do not.

For the club's sake, I sincerely hope Mexes is on this "fairly standard contract" you speak of and not the 4 million euro per annum deal he has been raking in for the last 3 seasons for doing jack.

As you know, I fancy good youth development strategies. It's smart, efficient and economical. Put simply, in this case, Mexes takes up valuable resources that could be used better elsewhere -- I'm talking about the opportunity cost of giving Mexes a spot in the team at the expense of someone else.

Milan could be and should be investing in first-team youth development. Mexes is Mexes. He's not a great player to start with and he's not going to get any better any time soon.

Why don't we develop our own Romagnoli? There's nothing stopping us from doing that. Instead we will attempt to buy him for +20 million euros.

Think about how far ahead of the game Rodrigo Ely could be if he had time on field last season for us?

Coincidentally, there's an ex-Milan youth player I'm sure you have heard of by the name of Matteo Darmian who has also been in the news this week. He was squeezed out by countless numbers of scrub, band-aid "reserves" just like Mexes. Darmian was effectively forced to leave this club to save his career. He joined Torino, a club that recognises young talent and rewards it with game time.

Now at the age of 25, with several years of top-flight experience under his belt, Darmian has left Torino to go to Manchester United. Whilst United probably aren't paying Darmian 4 million euros a year, he's most definitely much more worthy of that sort of money than the likes of Mexes.

I have watched Milan for a long time and the management's tendency to hang on to veteran players at the expense of youth is a serious problem that must be rectified if this club is to succeed in the future.

The continuous re-signing of scrubs at the expense of youth development is not ok and it never has been.

It's not like we are selling El Shaarawy because he is surplus to requirements. We are selling him to free up funds. And that is after we bought Bertolacci for 20 freakin million. The coach was planning him to use in the squad but the genius management realized too late they don't have enough funds to properly complete the squad and had to sell a player who at his full potential is our best player.

M99 wrote:It's not like we are selling El Shaarawy because he is surplus to requirements. We are selling him to free up funds. And that is after we bought Bertolacci for 20 freakin million. The coach was planning him to use in the squad but the genius management realized too late they don't have enough funds to properly complete the squad and had to sell a player who at his full potential is our best player.

If SES was sold purely to raise funds I will be super annoyed because we surely could've sold Menez instead. I suppose that would make too much sense. We probably could have sold off the whole "Hit List" for a combined total of 16m. Part of me likes to think that SES and Sinisa disagreed about SES' role in the upcoming season and SES decided to leave and make a go of it elsewhere. If that's the case, good on him and I wish SES all the best at Monaco.

Mexes is on 1.5 million a year on his new contract as far as I understand. In an ideal world we would have simply let him go in addition to the numerous other departures this summer but I'd prefer to simply renew a known quantity rather than bring in an experienced reserve from outside the club, it just seems to be a pointless reshuffle.

I think it's clear that if they're good enough, space is being made to step into. Mexes' renewal isn't a big deal in itself. It becomes a big deal if we end up with all of Alex, Mexes, Paletta, Zapata and Zaccardo on our books at the end of the transfer window. If that is the case then his renewal will have been pointless and will prevent a youngster like Ely stepping up. If we end up with, for argument's sake, Romagnoli, Ely, Paletta, Mexes and Zaccardo - who is hanging on to his contract for dear life - then that's providing ample opportunity for Ely to either step into a gap or be shown wanting.

If we don't clear anyone else out though then it's an obvious failure. It's too early to tell how our squad will look at the end of the transfer window however.

I agree with you in that it's too early to tell how our final squad composition is going to pan out at this stage of the transfer window. However, you and I have seen many a season go to crap because Milan have done a half-assed job in the pre-season. To me, Mexes' re-signing is the latest in a long line of poor decisions and was totally unnecessary. Unfortunately, the chances of us clearing out all of the rest of those unwanted defenders you listed above is highly unlikely.

It's possible that it will pan out poorly however if we find a strong first team partnership then I doubt this will matter greatly, even if it takes a year longer to get rid of the likes of Zaccardo who should never have been bought in the first place.

Also with the departure of El Shaarawy, I really want us to chase another creative midfielder but sadly I doubt we'll see anyone of a suitable ilk arrive. Witsel's agent seems to suggest that we're still working hard on agreeing a deal with Zenit but I'd like yet another arrival but it seems we'll simply be living with Bertolacci as our 10.

I want a strong starting CB partnership and someone capable as the 3rd choice CB. I remember the times when one (or both) of the TS - Nesta partnership was injured... sometimes Bonera had to step in. Ah, the memories.

I actually love the bertolacci signing and I think his price is justified with the market currently...It's just that SES was sold for a fraction of what he should have been sold for...18m(2m loan and 16m buyout) for one of the most promising and hardworking young attackers in Italy is an unbelievable piece of business on Monaco's part...for a player of that quality nothing under 40m should have been accepted.

GDM: Milan raise offer yet again for Romagnoli, but Roma resists

Just pay what they *bleep* want, its as simple as that, did the *bleep* bertolacci deal not indicate anything? If you want a *bleep* promising player from a *bleep* rival team, then there's no *bleep* negotiation, just comply.

GDM: Amidst Napoli, Milan is also lookin at Maksimovic as an alternative to Romagnoli

Alternative? Can't believe we sold ES for this *bleep* shit

Sterling sold to City for almost 70 million Euros... How is SES worth 18 in a market like this? x 1000

I don't think ES was sold primarily for raising funds, since we don't even most of the money until next season. It probably had more to do with him wanting to leave after Mihajlovic's not so promising attitude towards him (playing CM and whatnot). And if he want's to leave, that's understandable and I wish him the best. But the price.. coming from Monaco who are loaded with cash. It just doesn't make sense from our management's part.

It's being reported that in fact the overall fee for El Shaarawy will be 16 million, not 18. 3 million euros for the initial loan and an additional 13 after 15 appearances.

So effectively the fee Saponara, who we sold for a pittance this window, is about to command.

If it had been decided that El Shaarawy would be used to balance the books, why on earth have we sold him now when his value is probably at the lowest it has been in years? We could have doubled his fee in previous windows or again after another good year whilst he's certainly not going to lose further value, one just has to look at the fee Jovetic is commanding to see that clubs will still take risks on injury prone players.

I hope he does well abroad and has a great career but it would kill me to see him return to Italy and star for another club.

Leverkusen and Schalke could take Cerci off Milan's hands

By all means

Whilst Cerci is a capable SS, I have wanted both him and Menez to depart however El Shaarawy's departure leaves us short of options. Given that it seems we are not pursuing a direct replacement for El Shaarawy - Ibra will function as a link to the attack but possesses different qualities - we do need someone with the skill set of either Menez or Cerci to provide flexibility and act as a complement to either Bacca or Adriano.

I'm not adamant that he should stay however, I'm content to see him depart. I would like a promising attacker capable of playing a reserve role in his stead however, though perhaps Sinisa will start to give Mastour greater time. Suso might perhaps fill such a role but I've always felt he was destined for a midfield role.

What is up with Van Ginkel? Did we not try to sign him?

nichabr wrote:What is up with Van Ginkel? Did we not try to sign him?

He's on loan at Stoke. I'm pretty sure he would've said no if we tried to sign him anyway.

“At this moment it really is difficult for me to find the words to describe my state of mind,” he wrote on Instagram.

“It all happened very quickly and in 24 hours I found myself having to make a decision that I am certain can be the best for me and for my career.

“I don’t need to underline how disappointed I am to leave a club like Milan and its fans. Other than the fact I’ve been tied to these colours since I was little, it’s difficult to leave a club that has always supported and had confidence in me, even in the worst moments.

“However, I think the moment has come for me to change direction and take on a new professional challenge with grit and the utmost enthusiasm.

“I’m sorry, too, that I was unable to give my total contribution due to injuries over the last two seasons… but I always honoured and respected this jersey, from the first day to the last.

“These four years have given me so much, helped me to grow, enriched me as a player and a man.

“I thank Milan, all the members of staff and all my teammates over these seasons. We had many victories, as many defeats, but always alongside great people. I will hold on to every teaching and every piece of advice I was given.

“And finally I must thank you, the fans, last but not least… in fact, unique and special… Thank you for the affection you’ve always shown in every occasion, above all in the negative periods.

“And thank you for the wonderful words and message that even today, despite the fact I have changed shirt, you continue to send me. I will carry them in my heart forever.

“Truly thank you to everyone.

“Au revoir

“Stephan El Shaarawy.”

Bloody ridiculous

This just appeared in Milan Channel, there is going to be a medical on Friday for a secret player



The silhouette matches this guy

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJ0pa7qWwAASqjV.jpg

SES and Martial with Bernardo Silva and Moutinho feeding them is going to be pretty fun to watch... especially given that Kurzawa is still there as a fullback too AND they've signed Cavaleiro from Benfica and Adama Traore from Lille (both HUGE prospects).  

A lot of attack right there.  Monaco should be fun.

sportsczy wrote:SES and Martial with Bernardo Silva and Moutinho feeding them is going to be pretty fun to watch... especially given that Kurzawa is still there as a fullback too AND they've signed Cavaleiro from Benfica and Adama Traore from Lille (both HUGE prospects).  

A lot of attack right there.  Monaco should be fun.

I'm glad that he's moved to a project where he'll be appreciated and have a chance to play Champions League football again, I'll try and watch more of Ligue 1 this year to follow his progress still.

Some uplifting pictures to clear away the pessimism



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJ081JJUsAAGbss.jpg

Also: GDM: Milan raises their offer for defender Romagnoli to 22m: the latest

GDM: Carpi ask for Rodrigo Ely

dostoevsky wrote:

sportsczy wrote:SES and Martial with Bernardo Silva and Moutinho feeding them is going to be pretty fun to watch... especially given that Kurzawa is still there as a fullback too AND they've signed Cavaleiro from Benfica and Adama Traore from Lille (both HUGE prospects).  

A lot of attack right there.  Monaco should be fun.

I'm glad that he's moved to a project where he'll be appreciated and have a chance to play Champions League football again, I'll try and watch more of Ligue 1 this year to follow his progress still.

I'm just worried about his health a bit...  Ligue 1 play rough and the refs let it go.  SES needs to learn how to avoid some of the contact.

That said, he has Toulalan and Bakayoko as defensive mids so he should be spared some in terms of energy on defense.  I'm hoping he plays the Ferreira-Carrasco role where he was the first outlet on the counter attack so he was allowed to stay up the pitch along with the CF...  just needs to cover space in the center circle.

Monaco is now Porto... they're run by the right hand man of Porto president for years. It's clear that they will sell their top players for a lot of money and invest that money into the most promising youth + undervalued yet still young players. I like it. If you're not going to be a superstar team... being a superb development team is the next best thing. Make you worthwhile to watch.

As usual, i have no idea what Milan is doing