Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

Soriano to Milan is gaining rapid steam.
What kind of midfielder is he?
Is he in any way creative and technical or just another workhorse with little footballing IQ?

Sinisa employed him as a trequartista at Sampdoria and also as a CM in a 4-3-3 last year however I don't want him. Jack of all trades, master of none who brought work rate rather than vision to the 10 role. I'd have understood if we went for him as a cheap alternative to Bertolacci but it makes no sense in my mind to purchase both.

dostoevsky wrote:Sinisa employed him as a trequartista at Sampdoria and also as a CM in a 4-3-3 last year however I don't want him. Jack of all trades, master of none who brought work rate rather than vision to the 10 role. I'd have understood if we went for him as a cheap alternative to Bertolacci but it makes no sense in my mind to purchase both.

Completely agree.

Sportitalia claims Paletta is going to Atalanta, but he wants to go to Roma instead.

FFS I'm tired of us signing provinciale fodder who don't have a single creative bone in their body. Sign a creative CM as well as Ibra and just get it done with.

We can get a TQ next season assuming we qualify into the CL.

Apparently Berlusconi is unwilling to pursue Soriano despite Sinisa's wishes as he sees the midfield as being fairly well covered. Whilst we still undoubtedly need another technical midfielder I'd rather see no one arrive than another player with an identical skillset to our current selection so I'm happy to hear about Silvio's reluctance.

It's also being reported that Galliani will meet with Alex's agent again this week to discuss offers from the Bundesliga. He might well leave if he feels he's not a first choice option and with Sinisa choosing an Ely-Romagnoli partnership for the Coppa this might convince him to leave which would go a long way to aiding our wage bill.

Witsel's intermediary: "We will meet with Milan on August 24-25 in Taormina to understand their intentions."

Witsel's intermediary: "Zenit could accept deferred payments. These high figures are rarely paid at once."

Witsel's intermediary: "So far there have been contacts between us with Milan, Zenit and the player."

Witsel's intermediary: "Axel would immediately join Milan,has no problems.We are talking about one of the most important clubs in the world"

Witsel's intermediary: "Milan are in pole position to sign the player, they have burned every kind of competition."

Witsel's intermediary: "While they are yet to present an official offer they moved well. Milan's charm attracts more than other clubs."

Cookie Monster wrote:

Witsel's intermediary: "Zenit could accept deferred payments. These high figures are rarely paid at once."

by Italian clubs

Silvio wrote:“We wanted to meet to talk with Sinisa and Adriano about the first game,

“We’re all happy, because it was a good performance, and early indications were positive, above all for the new players.

“Sinisa is the most important signing, we hope to take Milan back into the Champions League.

“The team is strong, because Sinisa is strong. He’s a leader, he plays our attacking philosophy well.

“I’m visiting Milanello again this year, things are being done well, and I’m reassured by Mihajlovic. I’m convinced we can get the Scudetto.

“Juventus? They’ve made good buys, they lost three important players [Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal]. I’m jealous of [Paulo] Dybala, we wanted him.

“[But] We’re still aiming for first place.”

“I decided to invest, because we have to go back to the glories of the past.

“Ibrahimovic? It’s difficult for him to stay in France, because of his words that drew a negative reaction from the French public.

“If PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] end it with Zlatan, we have his word that then there would only be us.

“As for a midfielder, we’re on course to get one, as you know.”

That midfielder is hopefully Witsel (not Soriano).

Lazio are interested in Matri as both Klose and Djordevic are unavailable through injury currently according to Sky.

Lazio yes pls

Nocerino might leave, internet from Bologna. Alex will most probably leave as well. On the other hand, Miha has apparently vetoed Matri's move to Lazio...

It's being reported that we've agreed a 10 million euro deal for Soriano from Sampdoria. Nocerino may head in the opposite direction in a separate deal.

Can't say I'm thrilled, not that he's a poor player per se. He doesn't bring anything different to the table however. Essentially he offers us the same skill set as Bertolacci and Poli.

I imagine our midfield will look like this now:

Honda
Soriano---De Jong---Bertolacci

Very industrious certainly but I fear we'll lack the guile to deal with sides who are willing to put pressure on us in our own half. When we're being suffocated there's no one there who is particularly effective in tight spaces or who has the passing range to extricate themselves from pressure. It may not be a particular issue in the league but neither is it a midfield that stands out as being able to work its way through sides sitting deep. Sinisa may hope that we can simply steamroll most sides with energy but I'm unsure how we'll cope with sides like Juventus, Roma and Napoli who will look to take the game to us. I would add Fiorentina but I've not had a chance to watch them yet under Sousa, whilst Lazio remain a threat but I feel that midfield matches up fairly well to their approach and personnel.

Could anyone who has seen Soriano play describe what kind of player he is? The good things come see with this are that he is 24, has worked under Miha before so he should be comfortable with him, and that Nocerino is going the other way!

If Monty can find his form again, I think we'll be fine in the midfield department. If anything, it'll be a million times better than the joke it was last season.

Very disappointed to hear we're getting Soriano. Doesn't make sense since we already have Bertolt

Maybe Witsel is off the table so we're getting Soriano.

If it was Witsel vs Ibra. Who would you guys want out of those 2?

Witsel is 26, whereas Ibra is 33 and probably only has a year or 2 left until hes done for. Just FYI

Isn't Witsel 28?

Isn't Witsel 28?

Isn't Witsel 28?

I don't know.

Maybe.

I guess yes.

Witsel is 26.

Witsel or Ibra? Witsel IMO.

There's 1 important reason I don't want Ibra: the team risks becoming over-reliant on him. Against Perugia, this new Milan squad showed the first signs of a chemistry and understanding that can be achieved when there are good players in every position and the whole team is working together for a common goal under the guidance of a coach with clear ideas about how the team should aim to be playing.

I think that the purchase of Ibra is likely to jeopardise the current squad's potential to be the first Milan team in three seasons to rise from the ashes of financial crisis and poor decisions in the transfer market. There is definite potential for a long-term vision to be realised in the upcoming seasons if we continue to invest in every position, with a sensible emphasis on youth, instead of spending big money on 6 strikers whilst padding out the rest of the team with washed-up stopgaps.

Conversely, if Ibra were to arrive, I would still be ecstatic given that he is one of the greatest players in the world and often will win the team games that it would otherwise draw.

On the downside, Ibra is 33 and is obviously becoming slower and, more disturbingly, prone to injury. He would demand high wages and he has an ego that has the potential to be disruptive to our team.

I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on the positives and negatives of bringing Ibra back...

I feel like you hit the nail on the head as far as Ibra. Right down to me feeling ecstatic if he were to arrive. But at the end of the day, I really want us to have a longterm project. The short term fixes are not what we need. Stability and a philosophy to work towards is more ideal in my opinion.

Ibrahimovic certainly.

I firstly want to state that I agree with Forza that for too long we have searched for short term solutions rather than considering the long term ramifications upon the squad. I do believe however that in this case it is unfair to consider him simply a short term stop gap.

Before I discuss why I prefer him in a comparative sense, I wish to briefly discuss Zlatan in isolation. Broadly speaking, I frown upon the acquisition of players in their 30s. I make an exception for Ibrahimovic however in that I don't believe the effectiveness of his game in Serie A will decline greatly in the immediate future. Though he plays a difficult position, it's worth noting the impact that Totti continues to make in a similar role at Roma at the age of 38. Neither player relies heavily on their mobility. Whilst one might expect Zlatan to lose a step or two in the coming years, the attributes important to his play style will be essentially unaffected. Whilst I doubt whether he might survive in other leagues so well, I've no doubt he can continue to play at a high level in Serie A for at least three or four years.

One obviously can't compare Ibrahimovic or Witsel as players given that they're in completely different positions however we can evaluate their relative level in their role and the necessity of adding their skill set to the squad.

Firstly, Ibrahimovic, despite a minor decline, remains one of the most prominent players in the game. There are very few players of comparable influence in the final third around and even fewer available on the market. Witsel meanwhile, whilst a capable midfielder, is your run of the mill box to box. If you miss out on him, there are a dozen other alternatives.

More importantly however, Ibrahimovic fills a definite void in the squad in a manner that Witsel does not. Whilst he'll certainly continue to score at an excellent rate, it is not simply the goals that Zlatan brings that make him an asset. He holds onto the ball in the final third, he creates space for those around him, his final pass is exceptional. Put simply, he does what others in our squad can't do.

Witsel meanwhile, is arguably an improvement on our options in the middle of the park but he doesn't bring anything different to the table that can raise our level relative to the best sides in Europe. He does everything that you expect from a box to box midfielder. Is that really what our side needs though? Will he hold the ball better than our current options in tight spaces? Will he raise and lower the tempo of our passing game in the middle as necessary? Will he improve the level of those around him?

I certainly do think that we need another midfielder, however one with a very different skill set to Witsel. If we were discussing someone such as Pjanic then I would certainly rather have him. We simply can't attract that calibre of player at the moment however. The only elite player who we might have a chance of snatching is Ibrahimovic. A player who would bring us back into the Champions League and give us a shot at the sort of midfielders who can secure our future.

There have certainly been box to box midfielders worth prioritising over an attacker. If you look at Juventus' purchase of Vidal a few years ago, they were getting a player who was far more integral to their league success than any attacker they purchased until Tevez. He was a player however who could play behind the strikers or in central defence, who scored 15 goals a season and who was unlike anyone in their squad at the time. With Witsel, we can get an expensive upgrade on Bertolacci without fixing our deeper creative issues. If we were made of cash, I'd have him in the squad but a squad that just finished 10th can't say no to Ibrahimovic.

I'm not the biggest fan of Witsel in truth. My point was more about the potential downsides of Ibra's return. In saying that, I would still take a high calibre attacking mid ahead of Ibra if we could get one. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we're going to get one.