Because he'll never actually be worth what the English clubs would be willing to pay

You really think we'll keep all our up and coming stars down the road. There's a reason why we're only bringing in certain profiles. To improve the team for sure, but it is also to have high asset values. I think down the line we'll continue to bring in players who are low risk-high reward and turnover the ones who demand the highest fees

It's what teams like Dortmund do consistently and successfully.

Tomori would be a smart business decision if he does excel with us.


Gazidis was brought in for a reason, and he has implemented certain restrictions on who we spend money on for a reason as well.

The goal is to stay competitive, but to also make profit. And one of the easiest way to do that in football is to buy low and sell high.

Sorry, I don't agree. I don't think that's our philosophy at all. We're not like Dortmund. The only reason we go after these young profiles is because, given the current circumstances, we simply don't possess the financial power to go after established big names who demand insane wages.

We're paying good wages to most of our players. If they excel even more, then we'll offer them a higher salary like we're doing with Hakan (around 4,5M I read), which is what he's really worth. That's all there is to it. But I don't think we have the objective to sell people like Donnarumma, Theo, Kessie, Bennacer etc. just to make a profit.

Agreed on all points. I believe the primary focus will be on improving the team, but we are likely to sell players as well. I do not believe we are going to operate like Atalanta (or Udinese in the past), but we have to be open to some departures if we want to build a sustainable business model. Hopefully this is only in situations where we already have someone else that can step up (or is even better).

No

Fillipo, I forget you're Croatian. Must be nice having two countryman playing for Milan.

Croatian players are some of the world's absolute best. Another one of his plays for Rangers.

The above is what I would want to happen, but I really do not think that is the case.

The management has said many times that they are looking for players who will become high value assets. This is for a reason. They want to win for sure, but they also want to turn Milan into a profitable business.

The model you are referencing is what we used to do in the past, and even then we had to sell eventually. Gazidis is about business first. And if big offers come in for those players that the management would deem as highly profitable for the club, then they would sell, no matter how attached fans are to said player

On what basis do you think this is going to happen or is our plan?

I think Han is right. Don't get me wrong, I root for your vision but I don't see any reality in it. In order for this to work, we need a sugar daddy like Berlusconi. With Gazidis (and Elliot) Milan officially settled for the Arsenal model; so yes, if the right offer comes along Donna and Theo are gone. It is not our objective to sell them, but do you honestly think we have a chance of keeping them when City, Madrid or Bayern come knocking on the door?


It is. Especially after the last few (Strinić, Kalinić, Pa?alić) turned out not that impressive. This must be what, perhaps the 10th Croatian playing for Milan. We only need a keeper to have a all-time all-Croatian Milan team ready


Is Bari?ić really doing that well?

Yes, he's one of the few world class players in the SPL. Total regular for your country, and he was top of last season's Europa League assist charts.

His crossing is a massive weapon at Rangers.

He cost us like ?1.5M, he's valued now into the ?30M range.

Good to hear that. He's still not that known to us here and only recently started to play more for the NT.

Tomori looks like a done deal.

On what basis do you think the contrary will happen? The official statement has always been to bring Milan back to the top of European clubs.

We will sell Theo and Donna if a club comes and offers them 10M per season and us 70-80M euros. There's no escaping that, because we can't afford those wages and we can't close an eye to that much money. But it's not that we're signing youngsters in order to sell them in the future for cash. They are two entirely different things.

We snapped him up from Osijek when he was 24 and at that point he'd just eked his way into the Croatia NT.

He's got a rival now for his position with the NT, Lille's Domagoj Bradarić. Only 21 but breaking through.

Answering a question with a question, hah? Well... the fact that we signed Gazidis, that he openly tries to emulate the Arsenal model, the fact that we're still far from being financially in green. The official statement may be suggesting that but I think "bringing Milan back to the top" means exactly that - functioning like Dortmund or Arsenal in the Gazidis years.

And I disagree. I think we're most certainly concentrating on cheaper youngsters, we'll try to rise their value and then sell for profit.

I see you're well informed regarding our NR

Excellent. So that's one reinforcement CB, CM and striker. Mandzukic for sure is another stop gap solution for Ibra. But, I'm sure he can also be a beast on the wings. He'll be very useful for this year and a half. Meite seems to be a good reliable CM. Anything and not Krunic, right? But, seriously, given the right conditions, maybe he can finally realize his potential. And finally Tomori, perhaps the most exciting prospect for this window. I can't wait to see what this guy has to offer.

I don't see us signing anyone else. One last thing, big props to Maldini, all of these signings are with favourable conditions for us. (Options to buy and the Mandzukic renewal)

I agree. Good mercato, more than what I expected. And there may be 1-2 more signings in the works. I think these moves indicate that there is ambition for more than just 4th place.

I do not see things as black and white :-). I think we will sell some of our players (for profit), but I do not necessarily see us following the Arsenal model. If we build a team with multiple good players, we can still be competitive even if we sell some (as long as we have good coverage for those who leave). Also, the approach of getting players on loan is helpful in this regard. For example, if Tomori really works out for us, I can see us selling Roma (if he does not, we do not exercise the option).

IMHO, you cannot equate Gazidis with Arsenal, hard to tell what decisions he was making vs. what directives he was given. And with all the hate that Gazidis gets, after his departure Arsenal "improved" from 4th to 10th.

Also, if we were just aiming for 4th place, I am not sure we would have made as many moves as we have in the winter mercato.

You just said what me and Fillipo have been saying though. If big money offers come in we'll consider them. No one is unsellable. That has been my whole point this entire conversation

I made a point of mentioning Dortmund, but I did not mention Arsenal for a reason. Dortmund are a perfect example of doing this well, Arsenal are not. Leipzig are another good example, and it is why we were after their mastermind last season. This is not coincidence.

I think our model will be to continually look for highly talented players who can have a high selling value. This is why we got Tonali when we already had Kessie and Bennacer. It's why we did not insist on Bakayoko, his value is already pretty low now, he'll be pretty much worthless in a few years. While on the other hand, Kessie, Bennacer and Tonali are all in their early 20s. If a huge offer for one of them comes in, we take it and have a ready-made alternative. Same goes with why we're looking at young talents for the LB position and not someone established.

My point has always been that we're not going to refuse big offers like we did under Berlu before things started going south and he used Milan for political gain. So he let negotiations start and then would come in to save the day and say we're keeping Sheva or Kaka or whoever.

And we're not going to make big signings either

If Tomori has a 29m option, and he has a successful time with us, they'll take it. Simply because they know that he could be sold for more than double that back to England in 2 year's time. That's just good business. Same with Leao, there is a reason why they deemed it acceptable to spend nearly 30m on him as well. Moncada obviously believed that he would be worth much more down the line

Juventus got Pogba for free and sold him for 105M four years later.

They also got Coman for free and sold him for 30M.

They signed Vidal for 12M and sold him for 40M.

By your logic, you're saying that Juventus are a selling club. But that's not that case. The case is that if big offers arrive, any club will consider them, especially in Italy where the financial power is way inferior to that of other major leagues.

We're building a team to become competitive again. We don't have the possibility to sign big names for big bucks, so we go mainly after young prospects. If in the future PSG or City or Madrid or Bayern or whoever comes knocking and offers 60-70M for one of our players, it's only logical to consider it. That's all there is to it.

Indeed. Do not forget Zidane (Juve rebuilt that squad with that sale). I could argue the reluctance to sell players contributed to B&G's Milan downfall.

Thank you

We've signed Tomori on loan with right of purchase at a little above 20M. The player should arrive in Milan between today and tomorrow, could even be available for the Atalanta game.

Conti is officially a Parma player, on loan with obbligation to buy if certain conditions are met (I'm assuming if Parma don't get relegated).

The Tomori deal looks great. 20M against the 30M Chelsea were asking initially. Some scout I follow on YouTube says he's better than Simakan.

Have not seen an official communication on Tomori. Daniele Longo claims it is a done deal (and Longo is "well connected" and generally reliable). Nothing on NonEvoluto.

Have not heard that we got the option down to 20M. If we have, it is indeed very, very good.

No official confirmation yet but it is a done deal.

https://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/merca...0-202102a.shtml

Not sure if mentioned but Conti sold to Parma official.

Shame, I liked him a lot.

The option will be 25m which is pretty good. If he turns out good we'll probably keep him at that price


Meh, never lived up to any of the promise he showed at Atalanta

It's funny how things work out. During the summer, it was almost expected that we would sell Calabria and keep Conti. I always said I prefer Calabria but that the club would probably sell him ahead of Conti since he's a youth product so it's a 100% profit on him.

However, the way Calabria has come out this season just proves how players are sometimes counted out too quickly. He's become arguably one of the best RBs in the league and wholly deserves the new improved contract he's about to get.

Around 22M I read.

There seems to be some confusion around this. I believe it is 22M GBP, not EUR.

I think injuries doomed Conti. He had lots of potential, but at this point we cannot count on him. Bottom line, it is a good move.

That's a slightly ridiculous comment - he only got 33 starts in 4 years and a huge chunk of his time here was taken away through injury.

In short, if any player was given less of a chance than he was, I'd like to know who!

As an aside, in 50 appearances at Ata he managed just 5 assists - in those 30 at San Siro? 5 Assists!

Watch him blossom at Parma.

As for Calabria, will never take to him. I heard a tonne of criticism of Dalot on here, and yet his stats on the other side paste Calabria's...

You sound like that guy who never watches games and just looks at stats.

Only to compare Dalot?s performances to Calabria?s is beyond ridiculous.

I'm very sorry to have offended you.

No one's offending anyone here, otherwise you're also offending Han by considering his comment as ridiculous.

We debate, sometimes fiercely, but it's part of the game. I don't know why you always take it so personally.

Calabria has had some rather disappointing years, but this year he improved quite a bit. I believe he has cemented the starting role, at least for some time.

Regarding Tomori, looks like the option is around 22M EUR (not GBP). If so, that is very, very good deal. I hear is is very fast (which is something we need, especially if we want a good cover for Theo) but his defensive play is questionable. If he lives up to his potential (and improves his defensive skills), I can see him taking over for Roma (and possibly Roma being sold).

Wait, what? He's a CB, and his defensive play is questionable? That makes no sense. What did we sign him for if so then?

What I meant by "questionable" is I have seen some concerns expressed about him. However, I am sure Maldini of all people knows what he is doing :-). FWIW, I also read that Chelsie fans are not happy with this deal (which is good for us).

It's official by the way. He takes shirt 23. Could be available for Atalanta even I read. Obviously on the bench.

Tomori is an excellent defender who'd still be first choice if they hadn't signed Thiago Silva.

Isn't he also the first English player to play for us since Wilkins and Hateley in the 80s?

Caugh... David... caugh... Beckham...

Hahaha I ALWAYS forget him. Mainly because he was a loan the two times.

But yes, him, Wilkins, Hateley and now Tomori. Anyone else I've forgotten?

Rino's big friend, Joe Jordan.

Mate he's Scottish. Please God tell me you were kidding!

Indeed I was.

But now seriously, Luther Blissett comes to mind, no?

Well yes but he was before Hateley and Wilkins.

Indeed.

Apparently Musacchio has officially joined Lazio.

How can you apparently do something officially?

We are linked with Douglas Costa. I'm not fond of him, but he would be such a big upgrade of what we currently have.

He's world class. Hell of a signing that would be.