An agreement seems to be on the horizon for a straight swap between Leonardo Bonucci and Mattia Caldara, while Gonzalo Higuain’s agent will be in Italy tomorrow to discuss his terms.
Yesterday was an important day full of meetings between Milan (Leonardo), Juventus (Fabio Paratici and Beppe Marotta), Bonucci’s agent (Alessandro Lucci) and Caldara’s agent (Giuseppe Riso).
As reported by Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky last night, important steps were made in the right direction towards a triple deal.
In fact, according to Sky, there is an agreement in principle between Milan and Juventus over the exchange of Bonucci and Caldara. The problem in the last few days was the fact that each side valued their center back higher, but the Rossoneri and the Bianconeri appear to have agreed on an equal evaluation for the 31-year-old and the 24-year-old, who grew up at the Atalanta Youth Sector.
Chelsea remain interested in Caldara and today they’re expected to meet Juventus. During the meeting, they will also discuss Higuain. According to Milannews.it’s Pietro Mazzara, if no offer is made by the London club today, then it would be possible for the Diavolo to close a deal for Pipita.
Sky’s Peppe Di Stefano claims that Milan and Juve are ready to agree on a deal for the 30-year-old bomber in the formula of an expensive paid loan (around €15m) with an option to buy. La Gazzetta dello Sport meanwhile claims that an agreement is practically made, but it’ll be an obligation.
Di Marzio reports that Higuain’s brother and agent, Nicolas, will arrive in Italy on Sunday. The desire of Nicolas is to make sure that the salary of Pipita is not dropped due to a possible move for Milan, or even increased – as he does not really want to leave Juventus. He currently makes €7.5m a year. Leonardo said in the press conference this week that big wages make it difficult for Milan to get top players, so a solution will have to be found if the Rossoneri are to sign the Argentine.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Marko Pjaca, who was once wanted by Milan but eventually chose Juventus, could also be included in the deal. Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed rumours that Juve could have a Caldara buy-back clause for €40m should Milan fail to reach the UCL within 2 years.
In other mercato news, Andersinho Marques of Sportmediaset claims that he’s spoken with the agent of Bernard, and the news that the Brazilian free-agent demands a €4m per year contract is not true. In fact, the 25-year-old would be open to a Milan move but a salary was never discussed.
Leonardo continues to work on reinforcing the team. There are three more years to complete all the work, between signings and sales. Bonucci-Caldara-Higuain may very well be the first deal.
Please swap Bonucci straightaway. He is full of shit. He came to destroy Milan . He was even handed captain badge that helped to perfect his evil conspiracy to destroy Milan . Idiot !!
How has he destroy Milan, has he ever course any controversy on the field of play or in the looker room .. I think Ronaldo arrival make him change his mind on going back to Juve.. And for me i think him pushing to go back is an advantage to milan as it end us two quality players with lesser amount of money.. Caldera as a swap plus Higuain 15m loan as reported . the sales of Kalinic and Bacca can’t earn us enough money to purchase Morata fee. so its an advantage on our side. And for Bakayoko NO… Read more »
He destroyed milan and he caused us not spending that money in the attacking department we had plans on
Yes, it was all part of his diabolical plan, to seduce Mirabelli and Montella, make them splash the cash and ruin us – who have been of such great threat to Juve under all these years – while missing out on a year of UCL-football. Definitely not Mirabelli and Montella’s fault for not focusing and managing their funds in areas that REALLY needed improvement!
Mouth watering… Please i hope Leonardo makes all these happen. Higuain, Caldara, Semessekou, Bernard and one more creative midfielder please.. I don’t really like Pjaca.
Aleksandr Golovin from CSKA Moscow please. He is a young AM with winning spirit and creativity. Pls check his statistics in CSKA and Russian NT.
-Caldara with a buy back clause is not a good deal. – Higuain gives us strength in attack but very expensive persuade for a loan -I can not understand where Pjaca will feat in the deal, we will see. ( I’m afraid with all of this gifts from juve a settlement agreement for a Milan player in the coming years or they will get Bonaventura in the last days of the mercato.) – Milan needs to get rid of many players and have only 20 days. ( Kalinic, Bacca, Montolivo, Antonelli, Gabriel, Jose Mauri, Borini, Bertolacci) – One of Reina… Read more »
Donnaroma should be sold too. But i think Montolivo will be useful. Our midfield don’t look strong enough. What happens if Biglia is injured and Bona is suspended? To me, kessie is not reliable at all. We need far more better B2B player. He hasn’t done anything special and i wonder why we have not given that chance he had to locatelli. LACATELLI should not be sold
Why should Donnarumma be sold? Neither he or his agent has started with any of their hissyfits, so there’s no reason to sell him, hopefully it will stay this way. If Biglia is injured or Bona suspended we will have Loca to play there, or perhaps Calhanoglu as well. We do need sign an upgrade in midfield though, and with the potential swap between Bonu and Caldara, and Higuains proposed loan deal, we will still have funds for a midfielder. If the loan deal is in fact for 15 million euros, we’ll still have 35 mill to spend if I’m… Read more »
I think the 50m was meant as a capital increase to stabilise the clubs finances and not for the transfer window, not sure though
Ah sounds about right!
Since we seem to be going all in for Higuain then i really hope it comes to fruition, hopefully chelsea wont find an agreement with him, Bonucci for Caldara is a sweet deal, we are off loading someone who hasnt really performed up to the mark and in return getting someone with a bright future, hopefully the buy-out clause is just a rumour. Bernard is a good option especially since he’s a free agent but as someone already said below, 1 winger probably wont be enough for a 433 so lets hope for another one, perhaps Depay? Although that might… Read more »
Depay should be bought . This management should invest in the right place. If they sell some players they should be able to afford Depay.
I hope we sell kalinic soon along with monty, mauri, gomez, bacca(if he wants to leave).
We should rly sign free bernard for depth on wings and meyer for vice Bonaventura.
Higuain on loan with option to buy is amazing
Swap bonucci with caldara is big win for us!
I like the Bonucci-Caldara swap as Bonucci never became the defender he was at Juventus and the Azzurri while playing for Milan. Also, Caldara is one of my favorite defenders in the league, certainly better than Rugani in my opinion. Higuain, on the other hand, I don’t like. Although his quality as a striker is not up for discussion and he will be a massive upgrade over what we have, personally I have never liked him as a player and mostly as a person. He’s not exactly young either. But anyway, I accept this transfer as we need it and… Read more »
Of course 16 Higuain goals is way better those 15 Bacca did last season.
22.5M for a loan including is wage, for 20 goals at best, those are truly expensive goals.
I don’t know, What about a winger if our stubborn coach wants to use 433 again, what about an IMPROVEMENT in the midfield?
Lol 16 goals in serie A. 15 goals in La Liga. As far as Higuain against Bacca is concerned, Higuain is comfortably a step above Bacca. Bacca doesn’t want to stay. Including Higuain seems important for Caldara, Bonucci swap to take place. Now keep all that in mind and then it’s easy to see why we have to go this way. Besides, if Higuain can get us into the CL with his 20 goals at best, it will be totally worth the 22.5M. We are also working on midfield/wing so give Leonardo some time eh?
One step forwards and two steps back, Higuain is on decline, Bacca wants lo leave because we are being linked with Immobile Morata Falcao and Higuain, do you think Bacca wants some bench time? Compare Bacca and Higuain, it’s stupid to spend when we have a good striker here with us. Do you think Milan is as good as Juve? Bring Cavani and even him will have a tough time to score. In this deal Juve are getting a lot, offloading 7.5M in wages and getting Italy’s captain a a great defender in exchange. And please don’t compare Caldara with… Read more »
I agree with most of what you were saying, but what do you mean with “please dont compare Caldara with Romagnoli, last year no one was talking about him”?
Are you talking about Caldara or Romagnoli? Either way, you’re wrong with both since both have had their hype for a while.
You mean since 2017? Caldara had a fantastic season it has a good physique but let’s be honest he like Belotti are one seaons wonders.
Milan bought a Roma’s youth product 3 years ago for 25M.
Don’t get me wrong I want Caldara at Milan, but for me comparing him to Romagnoli in terms of consistency and experience is a complete no.
@Raven
But this is the second season he’s performed, his first was solid mixed with a lot of goals scored for being a CB, most notably a brace against Napoli.
He carried on his performances last season and performed well in EL as well. The comparison between Caldara and Romagnoli are probably due to them being young and the future of Italy. Both have proven themselves though in their own way.
If the deal happens, I just hope Caldara can carry on his performances in a big team!
Saw someone how was suggesting Tanguy Ndombèlé and I would rather Milan take a look at him then Samassékou!
Ndombele reminds me of Pirlo, but Pirlo with speed 😀
You guys don’t realize how good player Pjaca is, we should get him.
What about Liverpools Wijnaldum for midfield?
They have brought in 2 expensive new midfielders so his game time may be limitied.
He is a quality player who is B2B, great vision and scores goals. Very under rated player.
Loan with option to buy could be possible
We can have a dream transfer by selling andre silver,bacca,naing,kalanic,bertolacciand gomez. That would give us around 90€.We can get bernard and savic of lazio for 100€ we are done..
Especially niang and then next summer we should sell him again))
“there are unconfirmed rumours that Juve could have a Caldara buy-back clause for €40m should Milan fail to reach the UCL within 2 years”
I can live with that..since i believe we can reach UCL next season..
Just like every other season since 1994..
Leonardo rejected the buy back option Juve requested and deal is set to be straight swap deal
Reina could be send to Chelsea with Bakayoko as a counterpart, probably a loan with option
Forza Leo (not Bonucci)!
Hey, Ted, just wanted to say that I appreciate how you’ve kept everyone on this blog updated regarding news the entire summer! Love the fact that Leo wont let himself be “bullied”, and is standing his ground, this is how it should be when you negotiate with Milan! We’re taking advantage of them wanting Bonu and Bonu wanting them – as we should! What do you think of the Reina-Bakayoko swap? I honestly want to keep Reina, I think he will serve as a great mentor for Donna and ofc as a player to rotate with. I loved Bakayoko when… Read more »
Thanks man, appreciate your words since you are quite involved yourself. Every year mercato for me is like a christmas, I follow it not only for Milan but globally from different sources
Most of things are rumours in early stages but anyways it’s exciting
Dunno about Bakayoko and a possible deal involving Reina but imo if it’s a loan and if it turns in our favour why not
Haha, well last season and this seasons mercato is looking quite interesting for us, but cant say the same about previous mercatos, theyve mostly been about trimming our squad, getting rid of dead weight and hoping not to sign anymore deadweight players…
True, but I also think that if Donna would leave next season or so, then we’d have Reina as a mentor for Plizz if things wont work out with Donna so…
Right now Im just waiting for the Bonu-Caldara swap to happen!
Our back four will be set for years – Calabria/Conti-Caldara-Romagnoli-RicRod, with Donnarumma behind them! So exciting!
Never ever seen a captain who wanted so much to leave his team and more, to be so upfront about it!! I feel tricked by this impostor Bonucci because at the beginning when many didn’t like him, for his Juve past and then for his poor performances for us, I always believed in him, his abilities and desire to succeed and build something at Milan!! Yes, I get the fact that the club is going through hard times but heroes stay and fight, mercenaries leave the sinking ship for a better one!! Excited about Caldara and I hope he follows… Read more »
Higuain,caldara, Bernard and bakayoko…make it happen Leo!!
Getting bakayoko is like getting back muntari .I watched him at Chelsea doesn’t know how to play football. .
Plus he is defensive oriented mid and we already have to many of that type, yet we use only one in 4-3-3 i really dont see where will he fit in. He will have to compete with Biglia, Locatteli and Mauri for one spot, plus Montolivo and if i add that Kessie is more suited for that position to….i would preffer a mid with more attacking skills and attacking mind set if we keep the 4-3-3.
So..€20m loan for Higuain..and mandatory buy for €35m next summer..will unlock bonu-caldara straight swap..
Once again..i can live with that..tears is fucking coming out right now
ForzaMagicoMilan
I think rabiot wants to leave France ,would be affordable and perfect for milan .although I prefer Milinkovic-Savic but I guess will cost us more
1: bonucci – caldara straight swap 2: higuain 15M loan with obligation to buy at 40 next season so total 55M . 3: get bernard free 4: sell bacca ‘ kalinic ‘ andre silva ‘ gomez’ niang ‘ terminate contract of montolivio ‘ sell or loan mauri . Get a combined fee of 80M for those players €€€ . 5: we had at the begin a 50m transfer buget . Now minus – 15M for higuan’s loan that leaves 35M And the combined of 80M for the sold players milan can have a 115M to invest . 6: get verratti… Read more »
A rarely mentioned fact: players that play a lot/are successful when they are young (torres, rooney) expire young as well. Higuain is one of these, is 30, and should be avoided at all costs. It will be another sheva2, torres, will be a waste of money. He might give us one good year tops or might even tank before then. We should spend that money on morata instead
After bonucci leaves who gets the vote for captain? Does biglia get it? Bonaventura? My vote is romagnoli and biglia vice. Once donnarumma shows his intent to stay him and romagnoli can be the captains of the team. I can’t forget about Abate but he’s either leaving or not getting much game time so I don’t think he would become it
I’d say Abate, even if he wont be on the pitch all the time, he seriously deserves it, just like Carrick was the captain for United last season while he barely featured, although I believe Abate will get more minutes. Calabria cant play the way he does with EL-football as well, and Conti wont be back for a while. Abate has my vote hands down. Romagnoli or Bona as vice captain. I see Romagnoli more of a true future leader though! Then ofc like you said, if Donna will stay and prove that he really loves this shirt, the way… Read more »
I’d think Abate too, but as I said he was tipped to head out for MLS and even though I’d love him as captain if he is only going to stay a year with limited play time then it’s better to give it to somebody that we can build it on. Either way I’m happy if he gets it or romagnoli does!
I highly doubt Abate we will get more playing time over Conti and Calabria. Abate form has been horrible over the past 3 seasons and he will potentially leave Milan along with Montolivo
So most likely the captaincy in will go to someone who is a guaranteed starter. Romagnoli, Biglia and Bonaventura will be the 3 players I believe is under consideration.
I would prefer Romagnoli as captain. His performance since joining Milan from Roma has been very consistent and he is rock solid at the back.
Just my opinion from observation.
good question. i prefer Biglia
As much as Higuain is a proven striker and I’d be happy with him, I’m still concerned due to his age. Doesn’t perform on the big stage and as much as we love Milan, we have to admit that the current Juve team is miles ahead of us and as such Higuain has had a better support base at Juve. We should rather take Morata (yes he had a bad season at Chelsea) but I think he would fit in well into our team and Gattuso could get the best outta him. Depay and Bernard would be great additions as… Read more »
My biggest fear is losing caldara to chelsea, our rivval in this mercato. They are pursuing the same target as we are. First higuain and now caldara. Step off chelsea!
@Robert
I understand but it makes sense for Caldara to prefer Milan, coz he”ll get to partner Roma who’s probably Mancini’s first choice for the Azzurri centreback.
Bonucci reall fuck up, Milan make everything available to him but yet he still mess up