Summer Mercato 2011

[ACMILAN1983]

There is no doubt in my mind Pirlo is one of the greats. In his prime I would say he is above the level of Xavi and Iniesta. The problem is that he is older now, and he doesn't run as much as our midfield would require. He is not the man who will guide us to the CL title next year. He could be a super-sub, but he would have to accept a much lower salary.

While I do love Hernanes attacking ability, I would probably take Inler over him considering he is better defensively. The passing skills Inler has will more than suffice, if we get a player like Ganso too.

Sputnik, I see Boateng as a pillar for our future squad. He has the physicality of a beast and as you say we cannot complain about his skill on the ball. On top of that he has the never give up attitude and he is young. Buying someone like Ganso, I would probably still see Prince in the attacking midfielder role, although he would fit well in the 3 man midfield too.

Boateng's unlikely mix of power and skill make him a very unique solution up front. Once again I should stress than I know nothing about Ganso, but I could see him playing in a 3 man midfield (maybe not necessarily to the left) to control our game from there. Then we would have a DM and a player like Inler who can put in the good pass. Creativity wise we would only have Ganso, but with Bommel, Prince and Inler we would have very accurate passers.

Pirlo is no doubt an all time great. For what he's accomplished with Italy and Milan while being arguably the most influencial player in both sides, he's comparable to talents like Baggio, Totti (I actually don't rate him as high) and Del Piero. Pirlo still can offer a lot at Milan, but like Seedorf his influence won't be so much as a regular starter, but a squad player with his experience. About Iniesta and Xavi, I think both will also go down as legends and deservedly so. Iniesta in particular for me is a very special player. I remember seeing him back in the Spanish youth teams and he always impressed me. For years he's been one of the best all round midfielders in the game and he's still only 26, with many years ahead of him.

About Ganso, there's been a lot of suggestion (not just on the forum, but also in Italy) that maybe he could be used in the 3 man midfield in essentially Seedorf's role. I like the idea because he'll get time and space on the ball to dictate matches, while Boateng can keep his spot higher up to press opponents high and offer energy behind the front pair. On the other hand, Ganso could end up like Zidane in Juve, who was originally played deeper only for him to struggle to show his best. Juve were recommended to play him higher and they never looked back. With Ganso's vision and ability, I do fear playing him deeper will make his impact within the side influencial.

Also as abbeyleemania already said, milannews reports Essien's been seen in Milan with Umberto Gandini (one of our lesser known directors).