A Stab in the Dark

AN interpretation of the market thus far.

The Market. We all scramble around to figure out who Mr. X,Y, and even Z are, and despite our best attempts, we end up incorrect more often than correct.

That’s no reason to stop the speculation though, as that’s what makes the transfer window so exciting (as does a new cycle of buying players – no more Klass Jan Huntelaar as a marquee replacement for Kaka).

Joe Jordan: “Bale to Milan? Depends on him”
Constant issues plea to Milan

With that said, here is my interpretation of the Milan market thus far. Before I begin, I want to emphasize that I do not know the future, I do not know what we are planning, and I do not claim to know any information that isn’t available to all of you. These are my opinions.

I believe tonight to be crucial with regards to our confirmation of Axel Witsel. He will be playing vs. Turkey in the Euro 2012 qualifier, and will be expected to hold the midfield as well as push forward. Much like the qualities expected of our Mr. X. He also fits the “identikit” (which may or may not be real, but if it is, clearly was made with the intentions of this player fitting it). We seem well on the path to signing him, and I think this is just one last confirmation. I expect him to be our first paid signing of the window barring a disaster game.

We also seem to be waiting on a larger player to be signed (reports have been surfacing for the last few months that we had a budget around 60M for this entire transfer window, as well as the Berlusconi promise of a gift). A few weeks ago, I may have said it’s Asamoah or Hamsik. Last week, it looked like Fabregas or Schweinsteiger.

Speculating on who our big signing is, will probably ultimately prove fruitless, as no one until mid August could have guessed Robinho AND Zlatan would be coming. If I had to guess, however, as of now I would expect us to sign either Cesc Fabregas or Gareth Bale.

Cesc comes from Barca’s youth academy, playing in the same team as Iniesta, Pique, Busquets, Pedro…etc. It seems fairly obvious he will eventually return to Catalonia, but I believe he may make a stop before he returns. Xavi is still in his late-prime (and surrounded by a core of players just entering their prime – Iniesta, Messi et al.) and can continue doing what he does for Barcelona for at least another 3-4 years. I don’t think Cesc is willing to wait at Arsenal for another few years until he can become a starter for Barcelona. Barcelona does not seem to have him be a part of this current transfer market (they most likely seem to sign Rossi and perhaps Aguero. Wenger said they have not expressed a desire to sign him in this period, which makes me believe that if Cesc wants out, we could be a suitable destination. With Raiola constantly being spotted in London, it seems our big signing may come from there as well. But this may be a decoy. We will have to see.

If our signing is to come from London, then another possibility is that of the Welsh Left-Wing Gareth Bale, one of the most electrifying players when on form in the world. He has injury woes, plus Bale recently extended with Tottenham, which, like Schweinsteiger, makes me believe that he is not the man that we are going to sign, as this would require a fee upwards of 40M to sign either of these players.

A final signing might be that of Paulo Henrique Ganso. While we wait on the results of whether or not Italy will be granted a second non-EU spot, Ganso continues to recover from his latest injury. As time has gone on, Santos seem to slowly be softening their stance with the inevitable departure of Ganso looming ever closer. Ganso will leave Santos, and Milan seems his likely destination. The real question is whether he will be coming this summer (which is possible if Taiwo’s passport goes through) or if we will sign him in January, or even next June. I believe Ganso so be joining sooner or later, and for that reason, I have excluded players like Nasri who might be a summer signing, but would fill the Trearquista role. I believe us to be set on Paulo Enrique, and in the mean time, to use Clarance Seedorf and Kevin Prince-Boateng in the AMF role.

I’d love to hear what you guys think, as these discussions are some of the most interesting times for Milan fans.

Forza Milan!