Top notch midfield? Ambro-Rino-Pirlo-Seedorf-Kaka was top notch, this...no way. Problem number one is a top notch AM at a reasonable prize is not so easy to find these days. Problem number two is Montolivo and DJ are in my book just a bit above the average, and would never give you the needed amount of creativity, presence (Monty), stability and work-rate (DJ). The third is Boateng - I'm not sure he's any good to be honest; he's just mentally not fit to be Milan's star.

Top-notch was an exxageration, I conceed that. What I meant but didn't say is; top notch compared to what we have

I look at Montolivo for Italy and he's just amazing in that midfield, every game, consistantly good, dependant and combines well with the others. And then at Milan he's not half the player (even though he's been our most consistant performer this season)

De Jong is a very good player as well, he hasn't lit up for us yet, but I think people tend to forget that he's new to the team and the league.

As for Boateng, he might not have it in him to be the star of the team. Think of it in Barcelona terms. He doesn't have it in him to be the Messi, but certainly the Iniesta of the team. (Note: I'm not comparing him to Iniesta by ANY means, just trying to compare them in terms of what they give to the team). i.e Prince is certainly not the big star name, but he can be highly important with 'flashy' and brilliant moments here and there. Under the right direction he WILL be this for us. But that won't happen under Allegri

Agreed. Monto, DJ, and KPB are all decent midfielders. Good, but nothing chevalier ala Pirlo or Seedorf.

Milan used to have a presence in the CL and held its weight in Serie A pretty well over those 20+ years. But not all were spectacular or dominating. In fact some were very low. Those low points were turning points for the club to get back up. As the saying goes 'what goes up, must come down'. Turning points reflect a change in our core. And as things stand a core of Montolivo, KPB and DJ are Europa league level at best. Hence patience should be a given here for all Milanisti.

According to MilanNews, these are the names that might leave in January: Mesbah, Dídac, Flamini, Traoré, Strasser, Boateng, Robinho and Niang.

Link

I'd only keep Boateng and maybe Strasser from those. The rest should be sold at the first offer

I really don't get why we're giving Boateng up because our inept coach is incapable of using him correctly!! It's the same thing we did with Dinho and Pirlo, and we'll once again regret it

Niang? Wasn't Niang a hotshot talent for whom we fought just recently?

Yeah, why would we sell a promising 17 y.o kid? It's not like anyone expected him to play many games in his first season..

Apparently he hasn't convinced, not even the Primavera's coach Dolcetti.

so...another Grimi, but a pretty darn expensive Grimi. That would really be idiotic.

I think it's sad how if one youth player doesn't convince some one (i.e. their coach at the time), his entire career can get hurt. Happens all the time I guess. Pretty sure if Pato stayed healthy and we still had iBra we'd be hearing Allegri being "unconvinced" by El Shaarawry too

That is mitigated by sending them on co-ownership deals, which gives other teams the incentive to play them in Professional competitions instead of warming the bench at a bigger club. Thing is, no talent is wasted by coaches because there are tones of scouts out there who bring these players to the attention of many other clubs, etc.

Sole reason a talent is wasted is when the player does an Adriano.

I'm not sure our strategy also works.

Pierre Aubemyang was really great for us in the primevera and we loaned him continually and eventually sold him for peanuts....bow look at him go in France!
We've not gotten the best out of Kluivert, Elber, Davids, Vieria etc and none of them did an Adriano.

http://www.football-italia.net/27335/milan-lose-yanga-mbiwa


If we couldn't get him when his contract was expiring, I can't see how we can do it now that he's renewed.

And some people here were sure he was ours...

Can't say I'm sorry. From what I've seen, not worth the trouble/expectations.

Yeah who needs him when there is the diesel

So Boateng and Robinho out in Jan?

What are we looking at for potential cash, 35?

Well, Robinho will be sold for €9 million max. As for Boateng, well, we'd be lucky to get anything close to the €20 million mark, but I really can't see why any team would offer so much money for a player like him.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Man I wish we sold Boa when Real came knocking with 28Mil"

EDIT: And you usually end up getting the player departures we want, but it's the replacements and reinvestments that are Milan's real problem. Here's to hoping if we loose anyone this Winter, we use the money to get QUALTIY players for the positions we NEED.

If there's been one huge mistake in that regard, it was not selling Pato to PSG for €35 million last January. Maybe we might not have even sold one between Silva and Ibra if that had happened.

I still believe Pato staying will turn in our favor.

That's just wishful thinking. I can't see him getting back to his old shape anymore.

President Silvio Berlusconi to the Milan Channel: “I’m very happy to get back to taking care of Milan with Galliani and Allegri. In January we’ll see about the possibility of buying some players”.

Silvio Berlusconi spoke exclusively to the Milan Channel about the team, the fans and the future:

“It’s a particular moment for me as I have no institutional responsibilities and so I have more time for Milan and I’m very happy to return and take care of the club with Galliani and Allegri. We’ve got 26 years of history behind us and we’re the team that has won the most in the world. The great players of the past had to leave due to the age question while the sale of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to PSG will allow the club to save €160 million in three years. In such a time of economic crisis, we wouldn’t say not to such an offer. Milan will now back the younger players to get back on track. We’ll see in January if we have to sell or if there’ll be the chance to buy. The trio of El Shaarawy-Pato-Bojan is not bad at all and they’re all very young. Pato is a great player that we’ve always considered untouchable. In the last two years unfortunately he0s had some physical problems. He has to get back believing and have faith in himself because we want to see the old Pato again. I remember a few years ago a Spanish side offered €50 million for him”.

“Montolivo is the playmaker of the team and I have a lot of faith in him. He’s good at winning the ball and setting up the play. He reminds me of Pirlo in many ways and I’ll tell the coach to play him in the middle. Many people will say that it’s me who picks the team but discussing formations and players with the coach is something I’ve always done with everyone. If the President didn’t want the coach then he wouldn’t be here now. If Allegri is still here it’s because he has my trust. As a Milan fan I say to the other fans that for 26 years we’ve drank champagne and eaten caviar, now it’s a different situation and we have to look to the young players. There is a part of the fans that have caused me pain as they no longer go to the stadium. It’s in the tough moments that you see the real fans, a big team needs big support”.

“Today there’s no negotiation for the sale of the club. Before that we need to rebuild the team and get back to winning. It’s only then you can think about selling the club to someone who can guarantee the maximum commitment”.

“I have a file on each player and I know everything about all of them. At Milan all the players have to feel an attachment to the jersey and for that to happen you need the club to be close to the players and I hope to be able to give my contribution in that sense”.

“Rino Gattuso is right, you need 11 starting players as your base and that can be substituted when tired of injured. We haven’t had that so far this year. At the moment there’s no Gattuso on the pitch to pull the team along, we have to find another player like him who can give a push to the rest of the team. I hope that among these players we can find another player to be captain like him. We’ll need time though”.

http://football-italia.net/27484/milan-looking-xhaka

What do you guys think?

Don't think this is gonna happen. But no to me anyway.

We gotta buy some players, hopefully we invest in a good CB and a creative mid.

But knowing Berlu he's probably gonna try and lure balotelli with boateng.

Mediaset says we're after Andreas Cornelius, 19 years old striker of Copenhagen, and Vlad Chiriches, CB of Steaua Bucharest. They might both come in January.

Link

New Niangs?

I think Niang is not given up on yet. Everyone concerned believes he has great skill but not the right personality. That could I imagine be tamed, except we don't have the seniors to do it. Perhaps he might be the next Gourcuff we give up on.

Goal suggests that we might offer €20 million + Abate to PSG for Pastore in January.

Ah, if only that came true...

Hmh, Pastore is underperforming and overrated but still good. Who's PSG starter right fullback?

Van der Wiel?

Really? for Abate? I mean, I always say he's not good enough for Milan's XI but he's a great sub to have. why not Robinho or Prince?

So why would they need Abate?

Beats me.

I dont think giving up Abate would be a good idea. He may not be the best RB in the game, but he is a hard worker and is always learning. I would rather give up Robinho or Prince.

Also Abate >> Van der Wiel

Why would we give up Abate?/ Especially when PSG have a good player in that position already.

Abate is one of the few players I would say are unsellable in this team. Leo should do us a favour and hand Pastore over for the 20m alone after the bargain deal he got off us this summer.

How does that matter (for us)?

It means that the rumour is most likely just that... A rumour

It matters because it's unlikely they'd make a move for a player who would most probably end up on the bench. It's also unlikely he'd accept such a faith - but you never know.

And why would we sell one of our most consistantly good performers not to mention a youth product?

DS has proven that he's no where near ready to take over as well

Your bias towards Abate/against DS is astonishing.

DS has proved that he's "no where ready" to take over? believe what you want, I think he's showed that he's all but ready to do that. he will make mistake sometimes, he will have bad games sometimes, but that's what he needs to grow.

As soon as he plays a few games in a row as a starter you can see how quickly he adapts and how well he plays. that was evident against Napoli and hopefully will be evident tonight as well.

Lol, me preferring the more experianced and better player is suddenly turned into a bias/hate towards De Sciglio??!!!

Just too laughable at this point.

You know what I hate? Is how some people on this forum idolise players simply because they're young and from the primavera. When one of them does decently it's like he's the second coming, forget the fact that none of them have turned out any good at the end of the day. Let's not even try to list all of the De Sciglio's throughout the years shall we

As for DS and my apparent hate for him that you're pointing out. I have nothing against the kid, and think that he's a fine young player with potential to become really good in the future, and I woud like nothing more than for that to happen, but is he good enough RIGHT NOW to be a starter for us, especially when we have Abate available? Hell no!!

I've had no problem in the past admitting when I don't particularly like a certain player (Pazzini, Ambro, the list can go on) but that is certainly not the case with DS, and just because I don't think he's ready right now does not mean that I don't like him or believe that he can be a starter for us in the future, I just tell it how it is, and just because he's young and a youth product is not enough for me to say that he's the next great thing

I didn't say hate, I said bias because you always make it a Abate/DS thing when we're having a discussion about DS. can't talk about one without mentioning the other!


Why couldn't DS be the first one in years? just give me one good reason.

You're the kind of person that would say the same about El Sha if Zlatan was still here and the kid didn't get so much time to find his feet at last. remember the first few games of the season and how bad he was? who could've guessed he'd turn it around like this? if pulled it off it's because he got to play regularly, he was allowed to make mistakes and learn, and he's learning fast. for me it's the same with DS, I think he should start and play plenty of games regularly. I'd hate to sell Abate because he gives us depth, but if that what it takes for DS to become our first choice rightback, so be it! I just don't see the awesomeness you do in Abate.

Maybe De Sciglio will never become as good as Abate.

I agree with Zed about De Sciglio. But I also agree with han that he may not be strong enough (as of right now) to replace Abate yet. I think han went too strong with his statement about 'no where near ready'. I mean I haven't seen a decent 19 year-old in AC Milan over the last decade (not to mention a full-back which is hard to come by these days) play a string of good performances that projects the potential of someone capable of being a very good if not great footballer, have you?

The reason why it's an Abate vs DS thing is because in reality that is the case. It's either ONE or the OTHER. Simple as that and who would I prefer? Pretty simple answer really. Does that mean I hate DS or that I don't believe he'll be as good or even better than Abate in the future? No. Neither you nor I could answer that but as of right now, Abate is hands down the best choice no matter how you want to play it as me being against DS playing.

As for SES, I was one of the few actually defending him when people were getting on his back at the start of the season so your argument failed right there. And don't bring Ibra into it because EVERYONE would want Ibra on the pitch instead of anyone else. It's only natural. SES is doing great but Ibra is a different type of player, he's a 30+ goal scorer, a 20+ assist man, a midfielder, a support striker a prima punta. Ibra is a super player you simply cannot make an argument out of this.

Let me tell you the awesomeness I see in Abate. He was a player I didn't particularly like just a few short years ago. Thought he was a complete dumbass who was clueless in all areas of the game. and you know why I like him so much now? Because he worked his @ss off from the point he was when we brought him back from loan to where he is now, undoubtedly the best RB in the league next to Lichsteiner. Does De Sciglio have the postential to be great? Yes I personally think he does, but I just hope he has 1/10 of the determination and work ethic that Abate has because if he doesn't then he'll go down as another one in the long line of players with potnetial who failed to live up to it.

And your argument about wanting to sell Abate so DS could take his spot is pretty ridiculous to me. We have a very good RB and you want to sell him just so that the kid could get the start? That's just terrible logic. I want what's best for the team not for DS. And what best for the team right now is Abate. And you know what's even better for the team than that, to have another good option on the bench should abate not be available, and we have that in DS. So why ruin a good thing?


I don't think it's an exxageration. DS has a lot more growing to do before he can be a first choice for Milan. Maybe if the Milan we're talking about is the current one where mid-table is acceptable it would be ok, but for a Milan that's looking te rebuild and get back on it's feet he's still not there yet

Maybe. But with not playing him we'll never find out. To me Abate is a prime example of sheer determination. When we first got him he had awful overall technique, no feel for position and marking, no tackling ability but pure speed. Now he's turned into a good defender and our best fullback - and only determination + faith and playing time did that. DS on the other hand has talent, something Abate is lacking.

DS is still getting plenty of minutes which anyone else wouldn't be getting.

He's being handled properly. Throwing him to the wolves and leaving him as the only choice wouldn't be the best way to handle him

But don't you think this is precisely the time to integrate him? I mean I dare to say he's the second-best full-back we have right now (Constant as LB for me is still under experiment). But maybe not at the expense of Abate.