We'll see what happens. Kudos for Napoli selecting a born looser in Spalletti. And for Roma to pick the underdog master in Mourinho.

Somehow I don't think Juventus will be back, but we'll see.

Spalletti is an excellent coach for a club like Napoli. They don't aim to win anything, just make it to the top 4, and he's perfect for that.

Mourinho is huge for a dimension like Roma, it'll be very interesting.

This Serie A will definitely be the most exciting one yet, especially since Inter have weakened themselves, it sort of puts all clubs at the same level. But I think Juve will win it in the end.

Let's wait till the end of the transfer window

Honestly, I think we will sell Hauge and buy Illicic and call it a day..but I hope I'm not true..

Messi not signing with Barca. Let's snatch him. 🤣

Indeed. We should consider him. Yes, his salary would be insane, but consider all the revenues from merchandising and stuff.

I really wonder where he would go.

I hope not to PSG.

My inside romantic says Napoli...

Looks like we'll be settling for Ilicic in the end. Hard to tell if for the AM or RW position, this management's ideas are a mess even they don't know what they're doing anymore.

I'm starting to regret Capanoglu, and I never thought I would ever say that...

I don't understand anything anymore either. Let's wait till the end of the window to judge though.

If Ilicic is bought as another part of the attacking puzzle. I think he can do amazing things. But ofcourse, he can't be that player that we rely on for the AM position. A competition between him and Sael for the RW position perhaps. He has 100 x more talent than Cast and Saelmakers combined. I don't know I would be really happy with signing him, but it depends on the global context

If we're getting Ilicic for the RW AND a valid AM then I'd be OK. Not a fan of Ilicic but given the circumstances that outcome would be more than acceptable. Signing only Ilicic would be a huge failure.

Which by the way makes me wonder, if we don't have the money to sign a quality AM, then why the f*ck didn't we offer 5M to Capanoglu?

I get it, the scumbag doesn't deserve that kind of salary, but Maldini sweetheart, if you don't have a Plan B like Maignan for Donnarumma, then what on earth did you do??? We're talking about 2 more million gross per year. That's nothing compared to the situation we're currently in.

I was so sure that we wouldn't have a problem finding a replacement because I never even dreamt that our management would be so clueless as to let the situation deteriorate like this...

No? Really? Several of their prior dealings pointed to this happening.

But don't worry. We'll sign a replacement. We're just taking it slowly so we can muster the best possible deal and save as much pennies as possible.

Messi? Why would Messi want to join Milan? The guy will go to PSG or something like that... no way does he look like a Serie A target. Especially not us and Napoli. Diego had character (and was in a bad place) so he decided for Napoli. If Leo picked Napoli, the pressure of comparison (and ultimately failure because Diego was still in his prime when he signed for Napoli) would destroy him - and we all know how Messi crumbles under pressure.

Such as?

Look at it this way. We lost Dollarumma, but consider that 1) he was asking way too much for the club's possibilities (even our 8M offer was above and beyond the salary cap), and 2) Maldini had already "blocked" since April his replacement in Maignan.

In my personal opinion Maldini & co. did the right thing not to cave in and let him go. Even if we had renewed at his conditions just to sell him afterwards, do you think anyone would have been willing to spend money for him on top of his crazy salary requests? He barely managed to find a club as a free agent. And which club was it? Of course PSG. It couldn't have been any other club.

Now look at the Capanoglu comparison: 1) he was asking for 5M, only 1M more than what we were willing to offer him, and also within our possibilities, and 2) we had no replacement whatsoever for him.

You see, in this case Maldini should have caved in and met his demands. It was the logical thing to do. The fact he didn't made me think we either have the resources available to sign someone else, or we already had reached an agreement with another player.

But as I said, we've been hearing similar things re Chinese investment for a while now, and these people would be in the know. Same goes for the general financial situation of Suning as a company. All these things would have been known internally and we've been reading rumblings about Inter and Suning for a while now. We've even had trouble with the stadium project because of them

My point is, things at Inter are really bad right now I think we're in a far more stable position. And we might not buy ourselves a Scudetto but we'll continue to make gradual improvements. Inter got that Scudetto in exchange for plunging themselves back into the banter era similar to what happened to us and even them post treble. One Scudetto was not worth that


A quarter of that money will be re-invested into their squad, if even that. Mot of it will have to go into re-paying Man U and keeping cash flow available for wages and other running costs.

Juve have huge problems as well aside from an aging squad, a pretty average midfield and the noose that is Ronaldo and his salary, they're also not in such a rosy situation


The only club that can realistically afford him is PSG. City just got Grealish and Guardiola confirmed they're not going after him. And apparently he's close to joining PSG. It's disgusting what that club is doing. To see all those players wasting away in the French league. If they don't win the CL next year it will be the biggest L in history.

This is exactly why I was lobbying hard to give him the extra mil because replacing him was going to be a f@cking headache!!

Now look where we are. 2 weeks before the start of the new season and still no reliable AM in the squad. This is getting worrying now. We need an AM, if nothing else, that has to be the absolute priority.

Ilicic cannot play in our system as an AM. He'd be good on the RW, in fact I think him and Giroud will be great wild cards coming off the bench, but he cannot be the AM. He's not going to put in the miles we need in that position. I simply don't understand why they don't just try to close for Vlasic and be done with it

Btw, James is practically begging to get out of Everton. We should go for him. I was against the idea of him before but beggars can't be choosers and all that and he'd still be an epic upgrade over Hakan. His fitness the only worrying factor

Rumours are just words, not facts. We don't know anything about what was going on behind the scenes. I personally did not hear anything about the Chinese until very recently.

But I find it hard to believe that if Inter's ownership knew the repercussions they would just keep spending. Perhaps Covid become a decisive factor, who knows.



I'd rather get Isco instead. Better player, younger, no fitness problems and more suitable to Pioli's system.

Even when Silvio was in the process of selling the club there were continuous reports about how Chinese investment funds couldn't move their money out of China that easily. So these things have been going on for a good while now, the club was sold in 2016 iirc so this was already an issue then. I mention this as I clearly remember reading these types of reports of how it was no longer that easy for Chinese investors to spend big money outside of China. It's also why Chinese clubs stopped buying players for ridiculous sums as they did with Hulk and Oscar previously for example.

So none of this was new. Suning also apparently had a club in the Chinese league that is now dissolved.

So to say that all these things hit them unexpectedly would be a paper thin excuse. And these are all things that we - the general public knew - let alone big players in China who probably would be in with the Chinese government.

I think the Inter board took a calculated risk with all those purchases and now they're paying the price. Obviously Covid pushed them over the edge much sooner than they expected


Re Isco, he's looked out of shape though. That's worrying as it usually indicates that a player is not as dedicated. Anyway, both are incredibly naturally gifted players and both would be an upgrade over their successor. Both just carry their own set of baggage that could be an issue for us

Luckily I do think Diaz is going to make a step up this season so we can easily rotate

@han, though I do think the club seems pressed for time to cover the AM and RW positions with reinforcements... The club have managed well so far in balancing the budget, i.e. Getting the wage bill lower, reinforcing the squad with smart/efficient acquisitions... So not all is lost, instead a lot of compliments as I have full faith in the competencies at the helm of the club such as Gazidis, Maldini and Massara (Elliott are transitional owners, but ones who hold weight). Hence I do believe the AM and RW slots will be filled, along with depth reinforcements to allow the team to compete on both fronts again.

There are names being mentioned, and names to be let go... As we approach the end of August things should be moving faster.

Only on Sep 1st can we confirm if they did a good job or not, any critisisim now is premature as the window is still open and a lot can happen.

Yes, I agree. Which is why I said to x-off that I'd much rather be in our situation than Inter's even if they are champions. I think our management have done a phenomenal job to not only stabilise the club which was in freefall before they took over, but to also make strides to making the team competitive again in a fiscally responsible manner.

However, there were critical choices made not to renew certain contracts for small differences between offer and demand. Now they must show why their decision was the correct one by making the right moves. We are not hearing anything concrete now and we're slowly approaching mid-August. I think it would be a mistake to try to get players in at the last moment

Plus, we haven't moved enough to get players out. We need to make it clear to certain players and their agents that they need to find another club

Completely off-topic, but I remembered this statement from Krunic when we signed him and it made me giggle.

Krunic: "I'm similar to De Bruyne"

The problem is that we needed to strengthen that RW, and instead we created an even bigger hole in the AM position. This is where our management has failed, thus far.

Yes, they've made great deals in Tomori, Maignan, Tonali, Giroud, Ballo-Toure, Brahim etc. But the question is, are we weaker or stronger than last season? As of right now, we're weaker. No doubt. Capanoglu might have been an inconsistent SOAB, but he was the starting AM, and you can't have his sub in Brahim be the starter for next season. And Alexis, as much as I like him, is nowhere good enough to be a starting RW.

We have two huge holes that need to be filled if we don't wanna end up 5th again.

Sky - Hauge will undertake the medical visits with Eintracht on Monday. The Norwegian will leave on loan with obligation to buy set at 12 million.

I need a dose of that high self esteem


The bold part is what I repeated ad nauseum in June. Letting Hakan leave created a bigger hole than the one that we needed to fill. We'll see if it was a mistake in the end, but we need to get moving ASAP.

This should open money for a signing. Reportedly, we have an agreement with Illicic..but not with Atalanta yet. I think they want 8 million and we are willing to pay 4 million. Us being stingy makes me believe that we will go go for another attack midfielder..I hope.

Inter are totally crumbling...

Are you referring to the Tottenham-Lautaro rumours? IMO they're BS. No way Inter can afford another sale after Hakimi and Lukaku. It'd be a total catastrophe.

By the way, I'm very much enjoying this Inter crisis, not much as a Milan fan but more due to the fact that Capanoglu signed for them thinking he's made the move of his career yet he finds himself in a squad that's being completely torn apart. It would give me immense joy if we finished ahead of them in the league.

Everything hahah

Looks like we might be getting Florenzi on loan for the RB position. As a short-term solution it'd be fine, though I would have preferred Dalot on a right-of-purchase as I think the guy has got potential.

Vlasic played yesterday the first game of the Russian league after missing all previous friendlies due to issues with the club. CSKA's coach said all problems have been dealt with, so I'm assuming he will continue to play there. Another missed target.

All my hopes reside on Ziyech at this point, but I don't think he's gonna come, and we'll just get Ilicic and call it a day.

Also, Caldara is officially on loan to Venezia with right-of-purchase, presumably at around 4M.

Things don't look great.

Apparently Milan has signed this 16 yo Paraguayan called Hugo Cuenca.

A Primavera player and understudy to be promoted.

Yep, I saw that. We really need to fill that AM area.

I signed Ziyech in FIFA 21! Come on Maldini! Since I didn't have the updates, I managed to also replicate our signings. I sold Donnarumma for 89 million and bought Maignan for 40 million . Cala was sold for 30 million..

New name being thrown around (for a change): Yacine Adli

21 year old AM of Bordeaux.

I'll save you the trouble of looking him up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHZpOyJwi3A

He looks OK.

At this point I really do think whoever we sign will come out of left field

Look at today with Florenzi. There wasn't even a peep about him and suddenly it's almost done

It's frustrating for us when we're constantly checking out phone to see if something new comes up but it's been the same recycled BS all summer.

Whoever we sign will probably be someone no one is really expecting.

Re Florenzi. It's a great deal imo, he can cover the entire right side and midfield as well. He's a really good utility player that has moments of real quality in him as well.

Did I or did I not say Maldini has a couple of names in the drawer (not reveled)

Florenzi is definitely a good addition. More to come I am almost convinced of this, simply the club still has positions to fill in order to compete both domestically and in CL.

I really do hope they have someone good for that AM position. Now we're being linked to the Adli kid from Bordeaux. I really don't think this is the type of profile we should be going after for such a key role in the team. I would prefer someone more established.

Looking at the league with the teams as they are now. If we do make the right moves I would be confident in us competing for the title again. But without that AM and extra DM I'd still be worried on whether we can even make top 4

Re the transfer market

Pobega could go on loan to Cagliari
Samu could be close to Getafe (praise the lord baby Jesus)
Conti is being linked to Samp and Cagliari as well (fingers crossed)

If we could move both Samu and Conti on a permanent basis I would count that as a massive success. If Krunic could be sold as well it would be the cherry on top

Think before any AM will show up, some sales have to occur. Samu and Conti out will allow for Florenzi and an AM to come in.

Krunic out means a DM, or Bakayoko will come in.

There is still time, the fact names have not been revealed does not mean the management is not working.

Re Adli, kid looks good but not necessarily what Milan needs now.

Krunic is not going anywhere unfortunately. It's clear that Pioli likes him as a utility option. So he's staying, but he's not counted as part of the 4 that make up the options for the double pivot

Most reports are saying that Adli is considered a midfielder by the management and he does not exclude an AM. The kid looks good for sure, and it seems like we're close to completing the deal, so if we're paying outright for him it is clear the management believe in him. He does look like he can play a deeper role and if he can it would be great since we mostly miss some creativity when Bennacer is out.

Sky are saying the Florenzi deal is done as well. Will wait to see what Di Marzio says tonight but it looks like both Florenzi and Adli could be our next 2 incoming.

Only remaining big worry should both transfers happen is the AM position

Samu looks like he'd staying unfortunately. I honestly cannot see a RW coming in when we have him still on the books + Saele + Florenzi

For the outgoings I think we can only expect Pobega to go out on loan and maybe Conti on a loan + option type deal again

Don't be so sure. Reports have him joining Getafe.

MILAN PUSH CASTILLEJO TOWARDS GETAFE

Also big news is that Ilicic and Gasperini seem to have fixed their issues, and Ilicic will stay at Atalanta. He even started today in their friendly match.

MILAN TARGET ILICIC READY TO STAY WITH ATALANTA

So, a new RW at this point is a concrete possibility.

Also, Ziyech starting tonight for Chelsea in the Super Cup (even scored), and I read he had a great pre-season. Guess we can say goodbye to him as well.

Dear Paolo, no money no party.

Last i read the move to Getafe was off...

Ziyech was never a real possibility. Vlasic is still my number 1 wish. James or Coutinho could be options at the last minute though

Who do Barca have that we can pick off? They still have major issues and cannot register their new players. They're probably open to any offer for any of their players aside from a handful of untouchable s like Pedri, De Jong and Fati

Yeah, frigging Getafe want him on loan. And we'd be crazy to think any team would be willing to spend 8M on a mediocre player like Castillejo. Just give him out on loan at this point. The guy clearly proved to be a failed investment. We're never getting any money back from him.

Coutinho is the only player we can get from Barca that we may utilise. But the guy earns 10M per season, so we can forget it.

Bordeaux's president: "It is true that there is an interest from Milan. The transfer market is made up of departures and arrivals. There are open discussions. It is not wrong to say that Milan are interested and that they are in a good position. We will see if this transfer will take place or not in the next few days".

I'm guessing it's going to happen at this point. But I read from a few sources that we're not signing him for the AM position. Maybe as replacement for Krunic?

I reckon no one is off the table at Barca aside from a small handful which I mentioned. They have massive issues. La Liga starts next weekend and they still haven't registered Depay and Aguero

And yeah, either we let Samu go for peanuts or we're stuck with him. Thanks again Leo All his moves have turned into massed headaches for the club.

La Liga clubs are the only ones interested and they're poorer than Serie A clubs...

Seriously???

Yep.

They're currently at 95% of their revenues in terms of wages. They have to reduce that to something like 70%. With Messi it would have been 125%

Kudos to La Liga for implementing the salary cap. At least some form of control over this ridiculous money moving around like toilet paper.

Also, I found Al-Khelaifi's statement that PSG have respected FFP extremely laughable. Everyone knows what really goes on at that club yet he has the audacity to say stuff like that. Clown. I hope one day he will choke on his words.

The Messi transfer speaks volumes, I was reading Capello's interview yesterday where he said 'money won over sport... PSG resembles when Berlusconi bought Milan and then bought the best players in the league...'

Then my YouTube feed had this https://youtu.be/zwv5Xm93egM
Where I saw 15M viewers had viewed that video

Then I read somewhere that 900K PSG shirts with Messi printed on them were sold in the first day, rendering 150M in income from sales.


These numbers will put PSG at the forefront of all European clubs. In the sense that all those 10 years of age and older (gen z mostly) will most likely end up being PSG fans for decades to come. This in the age of social media and internet, means a new fan base will come and existing fan base will solidify as one.

PSG leapfrogged Madrid, EPL clubs and all those historic clubs of the past. It's a marketing gimmic that has been put in play and will definitely bring them ahead of everyone in commercial aspects. Football? Yeah, I think they will most likely win it all now.

But you know there are ways for these state owned clubs to get around any type of salary caps by over inflating sponsorship deals and such. So It might have handicapped Barca for now, but it wouldn't work on teams like PSG

And as R7 mentioned in the post above, look at the money PSG have made simply from shirt sales. They more than made up for Messi and all the other players they brought in for free on high wages.

This is going to jump start them. That being said, they still play in the French league and the interest in them will only span to CL football. No one will watch them in Ligue 1 and consequently, the league will still continue to be mediocre because of this.



Yep, it's sad but there is nothing that can be done about this. But PSG are nothing like Silvio's Milan, they have gone above and beyond now. It's absolutely disgusting what they're doing, not even City conduct themselves as such and they actually have a legitimate revenue stream.

Sure Milan spent a bit during those early days under Silvio, but what PSG are doing is basically assembling the Avengers of football

One thing is for sure, I would hate to be in Pocchettino's shoes. It's lose lose for him, if they don't win the CL it's a catastrophe and if they win it it's because of all the star players he has.

Kessie has sustained a muscle injury and will probably miss the first 2 games. And so it begins. Honestly, the biggest investment the management can make in this summer window is to overhaul the fitness team. Something was clearly going wrong last season and it has already started now. Keeping everyone fit would mean an extra 10 points on the board easily

Adli and Florenzi deals seem close to conclusion. I think both will be done by next week

If we get those 2 and manage to offload Conti and Samu, we'd only still need to bring in an AM imo and we'll be covered in all areas

I know a lot of people wanted a RW but it's not going to happen imo. And I personally think Pioli doesn't even want an attacking winger. He's happy to have a player like Alexis or even Florenzi in that position. Simply because he views the LW as a pseudo extra attacker so he needs the RW to provide balance.