Is Simakan better than Kalulu? Or purely one for depth.

We could use a similar profile for the midfield. Looks like Kone is that guy but I literally have no idea who he is.

(Not that I do Simakan, but at least he was already close during the summer)

 

Well Simakan is a first team player (who also played mostly as RB) whereas Kalulu was a youth team player. Not sure who's better but he's probably more ready. Kalulu seems to me to have potential, but clearly he is still in the stage of his career where he makes costly mistakes because that's what happens to young defenders (who are not Nesta and the like).

 

Looks like we can miss out on both Koné and Simakan? Wonder who is next on the list.

 

Few loan options may help; i am not sure on the Budget given to him.

Going back to our last match; I felt bad for Pioli as he seemed really wanted Chiesa in the summer for the right wing.

 

Seems nothing has changed re our approach to signing players. Slow, unsure, predictable. We've lost Kone to Glad'bach and we can't seem to close the Simakan deal, someone we've been pursuing and negotiating for since last summer. Apparently we've now turned our attention to Meite of Torino.

And, before someone takes up arms to "defend management and Maldini", let me quickly say this is not an indictment on them but simply reality.

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Milan only offered 5m + bonus for Koné, no wonder we lost the bid for him. oh well, on to the next one.

 

The guy is a 18-19 year old midfielder playing in Ligue 2. How much is he really worth, should we just throw money at him?

I like that we have our valuation and stick to it.

 

I assume Gazidiz or Elliot has the final say on the transfer; Maldini only can recommend and maintains the relationship.

 

How bad was that Tonali injury? Meite loading....? Could be a blessing in disguise as it may well force Maldini & Co out of their snail shells to act. Otherwise that's how they'll crawl until a Cagliari/Verona/Parma picked him up and then we'll change target once more [emoji16]

 

Duarte seems really close to a Turkish team, he'll apparently have a medical within 24 hours with then. Loan with option.

Conti is rumored to Parma.

 

Hmm, Duarte. I know he was cheap, but I wonder who it was that scouted and recommended him. Or was he just unlucky with injuries? Being dropped for a youngster who was bought for RB...
Hopefully means we are close to another CB

 

If i remember correctly, Serghino recommended Duarte

 

any new signing will need some time to adapt to the team. dont forget that. I really miss Bennecer, when is he even back?

 

Hopefully fit enough for the bench this weekend at Cagliari, I read

 

Reading that Conti has agreed terms with Fiorentina and they are moving quickly to finalize with Milan in order to have him ready for their Sunday game against Napoli. If true, I like how Fiorentina moved for this. Straight, fast, no drama.

As for Conti, I don't know what to feel about this. It's unfortunate that he wasn't able to show what he could as I'm sure he's a lot lot better than what we've seen. Injuries have not been kind to him.

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Conti was very unfortunate to have missed his chances when they were otherwise available due to his injuries and in the meantime Calabria has somehow grown into an absolute beast. Best of luck to him, I hope he somehow turns his career around despite missing critical years of development.

 

Yeah sad about Conti overall. I always liked him. It just looked like it would work for him at Milan, though. And he's already 27, basically had one fantastic season three years ago, and plays in a position in which his injuries can affect his performance a lot. We also have a very strong starter + decent cover there now. It makes too much sense to cash in.

I would not be too surprised if he does fine at Fiore, though. They play a formation that fits him, the're the right size of a team for a MIlan rebound, and he's got quality.

 

Duarte officially gone on loan now btw.

 

Sucks about Conti. We technically still need him. If Dalot covers for Theo we have no one to cover for Calabria.

Don't forget Dalot is still just on loan with no option to buy, and Man Utd reportedly keen to bring him back.

 

Sucks about Conti. We technically still need him. If Dalot covers for Theo we have no one to cover for Calabria.

Don't forget Dalot is still just on loan with no option to buy, and Man Utd reportedly keen to bring him back.

We have cover. Kalulu can play there and we’re likely to get a CB who can also play RB. Simakan for example played many more games as RB than as CB last season. Moreover Dalot is a RB. This is 3 players who can play RB and potentially one more coming. Saelemakers even has played there too.

The real issue of cover is more on the left side.

By all means we should get more appropriate long term competition for both sides though as indeed Dalot seems to be just for the year. But we hardly “need” Conti. He barely played at all.

(btw, this might be a bit far out, but if we get a proper starting material CB, Romagnoli should be tried as a sub LB now and then).

 

I don't know about Romagnoli as LB. Too slow for me. Not convinced on Dalot so far.

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Simakan injured, out for two months. Good thing we don't rush through transfers. 🙂

 

Like if you conclude a transfer fast the player is likely to get injured, and if you delay you have reduced the probability of the player getting injured? [emoji16]

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We are leading the serie A and with one or two good signings we could even become champions BUT that seems not a priority for the owners... And that's say so much about the owners priorities.

Paolo and co will continue to look for cheap solutions but what's the point... Cheap players right now aren't ready right away to perform.

So hopefully having Ibra will lead these youngsters to something special but not very hopeful.

 

I mean honestly I've complained as much as anyone about the transfer market... but these guys (owners, management, Pioli, everyone) deserve a ton of credit. Not in our wildest dreams we'd expect to be where we are.

 

I totally agree with what @zoo said. I mean, yes, give credit where it's due - management and Pioli to be exact, for building this team. But remember, before we over-praise them, even them never imagined this situation. It's not as if they built this team with the objective of winning the league or even just topping it for at least half the season. This definitely wasn't the plan/target. What we are seeing is, imho, an accidental bonus.

Now, coming back to what @zoo pointed out. This to me is like a once in a lifetime opportunity - something unexpected presented to you somewhat on a platter. Why not make that extra push to grab it? A couple of good signings might, just might, see us go the rest of the race in grabbing the ultimate prize. Or, at the very least, ensure CL qualification. You need a lot of things to fall into place, your place. Which is the unique opportunity we have now. I say make that extra effort, who knows when this kind of opportunity will come our way again in the near future? Remember winning the league is not a guarantee just because you set it as a target and build a team for it. But then, like zoo said, it says a lot may be aboutp the ambition of the owners.

Finally, I'm all for giving credit. But in my books, there's no complete right or wrong. This management's way of pursuing a target is tiring, a bit amateurish? Just before the Torino game last night Maldini gave an interview and confirmed that they've been after and negotiating for Simakan since last summer and have continued this winter, but that there's no agreement yet between the two parties. So he is not sure if talks are abandoned or not, given his injury now. That's a laugh, really. Negotiating for a player for two transfer windows without a breakthrough and you've not taken a decision to either abandon altogether or having an alternative. So now what? We wait for a player to become available, because there's no plan B for Simakan, obviously.

 

I totally agree with what @zoo said. I mean, yes, give credit where it's due - management and Pioli to be exact, for building this team. But remember, before we over-praise them, even them never imagined this situation. It's not as if they built this team with the objective of winning the league or even just topping it for at least half the season. This definitely wasn't the plan/target. What we are seeing is, imho, an accidental bonus.

Now, coming back to what @zoo pointed out. This to me is like a once in a lifetime opportunity - something unexpected presented to you somewhat on a platter. Why not make that extra push to grab it? A couple of good signings might, just might, see us go the rest of the race in grabbing the ultimate prize. Or, at the very least, ensure CL qualification. Remember winning the league is not a guarantee just because you set it as a target and build a team for it. You need a lot of things to fall into place, your place. Which is the unique opportunity we have now. I say make that extra effort, what is the probability we get this kind of opportunity often in the near future? But then, like zoo said, it says a lot may be about the ambition of the owners.

Finally, I'm all for giving credit. But in my books, there's no complete right or wrong. This management's way of pursuing a target is irksome, tiring sometimes. Just before the Torino game last night Maldini gave an interview and confirmed that they've been after and negotiating for Simakan since last summer and have continued this winter, but that there's no agreement yet between the two parties. So he is not sure if talks are abandoned or not, given his injury now. That's a laugh, really. Negotiating for a player for two transfer windows without a breakthrough and you've not taken a decision to either abandon altogether or having an alternative. So now what? We wait for a player to become available, because there's no plan B for Simakan, obviously.

So what's the difference then? Either you don't plan to win the league and get lucky or you plan to win the the league and get lucky?

I'm amazed how fans can whine about the management considering the season. I mean, one loss in the league, playing several games without our best players and we're lucky? Really? It's a very big reach to call our team lucky this season....

We've just had a -€200m season so it's just ridiculous to expect the club to splash money around. Do you see ANY team doing it now in January? I wonder why not.....

Furthermore, if anybody believes that a football management builds a team other than for winning games then I don't know what to say. As a football club you obviously go out there try to win every game and see where it takes you. Right now it has resulted in us to leading the league for 13 rounds. It's not as we were preparing to fight for relegation and suddenly we're in the lead. To hold a management's objectives for the season that were made before the league started is....I don't know what the point is really.

Who gives a f*ck about Simakan? Our season doesn't depend on his signing, considering we have one of the best defenses in the league. We clearly don't/can't spend, so they are trying to get the most for the money. Nothing wrong with that.

 

That's why I was talking about owners priorities. Of course Paolo would want us to win everything BUT the owners provide the cash. And with the limited resources Paolo and co. did a good job.

As Inas also pointed, is that the owners cant seem to see the bigger picture or more precisely to recognize the chance that is presented here - winning the League and all the benefits it brings - that in the end will also make good for their investments.

Also, we should keep in mind that we wont have the Ibra effect for too long - maybe next season as well but it is not for sure.