We have officially entered the last week of the market, which has always been the most awaited and the hottest. All the teams are preparing the final blows, between opportunities that could suddenly materialize and twists that, as always, will not be missing.
Milan continues in the hunt for Mario Balotelli's replacement, who underwent his first training session in Liverpool after officially signing the contract that will bind him to the Reds for the next four years ("It was a mistake to leave England, but at the "At the time I wanted to go back to Italy. I realized I made a mistake because English football is beautiful and generally better." The number one objective remains Jackson Martinez of Porto, despite the difficulty of the operation: the hope is that the Portuguese club can give in on the loan formula, even if the president of Porto has shown himself adamant. Milan will wait for Porto to play the second leg of the Champions League playoff match against Lille before knocking back on the Eagles' doors for the striker. One of the alternatives is called Fernando Torres, for whom important steps forward have been made: Chelsea, in fact, have accepted the hypothesis of the loan, but the main issue remains the engagement. Torres takes 8 million euros a year, an unthinkable amount for Milan's coffers, and even if the Blues contribute to paying at least two million, the salary would still be too high for AC Milan's parameters.
The other name was that of Eto'o, but his name was dropped after the agreement reached between the Cameroonian and Everton. Medical visits have already been scheduled for the next few hours.
Very difficult to try to convince Roma for Destro, especially after the indiscretion coming from England and reported by the Daily Star, which speaks of an assault by the Blues, who would be ready to shell out the 25 million euros that the Giallorossi sporting director Walter For weeks, Sabatini has been asking anyone who sets his sights on Destro, perhaps inserting Torres himself as a partial counterpart. Milan are stuck at 12, too far away to hope to close the deal. On the external front of attack the name of Biabiany returns.
Juventus dreams big and Marotta is preparing the ground to give Allegri a centre-forward. The track that leads to Falcao remains active, above all due to the will of the player, despite the classic phrase given to the media so as not to stir things up too much ("I'm fine at Monaco"). On Falcao, however, there are several European big names, from England to Germany, and Monaco do not want to make a heavy loss after the 60 million spent only 12 months ago.
The lead leading to Arsenal's Lukas Podolski has also cooled off because, according to what L'Equipe writes from France, the 29-year-old German striker could return to his homeland to play for Wolfsburg. According to the transalpine newspaper, the Bundesliga club would be ready to shell out around 12 million euros by offering him a three-year contract with the option for a fourth. Hernandez's quotes from Manchester United are rising, just as the Shaquiri hypothesis has made its way in the last few hours, provided that Bayern Munich accepts the loan idea.
Goalkeeper chapter: Storari's departure, towards Sassuolo, is only possible if the bianconeri find a replacement, by return of post and at no cost. After Milan's no for Abbiati, there is the possibility of Stefano Sorrentino. The latter could be one of the alternatives for Sassuolo, although it will be necessary to see if Zamparini intends to give the player to a direct competitor for free.
Manchester United could lend a hand to unlock the Inter market, increasingly resigned to the idea of not being able to reach Vidal. It is true that the British maxi offer for Di Maria is at stake (85 million!), but the low-cost alternative would be Guarin, valued at no more than 15 million. The offer from Zenit St. Petersburg remains valid.
Inter has also received a proposal from Atletico Madrid for Ricky Alvarez: for now the Colchoneros, at the urging of Simeone, are only negotiating the Argentine on a onerous loan. President Thohir is expected in Italy on Wednesday, who will plan strategies for the last transfer market with Ausilio. The Indonesian is dreaming of a big coup, in particular he is considering the Lavezzi hypothesis, sought and then abandoned by Juventus and too expensive for Milan. PSG must find a replacement in a short time and it must also be considered that in addition to the 15 million requested by the French, the attacker receives a salary of 4,5 million euros a year. At the moment it seems like a tortuous path but the farewell of one (or both) between Guarin and Alvarez could give the final acceleration.
The alternatives: Firmino is the player who could bring quality, goals and assists, but Hoffenheim has no intention of selling the Brazilian who is valued at 25 million, for Biabiany Parma are asking for 6 million, plus Ayew from Marseille and Gomez from Metalist Kharkiv .
Rudi Garcia has chosen: Benatia's replacement at Roma will be Konstantinos Manolas. A double mission is likely in the next few hours: in Germany to sell Benatia to Bayern and in Greece to close the purchase of the Olympiacos defender. For the Moroccan it's a war of nerves with Bayern Munich offering 26-27 million, but Sabatini doesn't want to go below 30. Who will probably arrive both in case of Benatia's departure and permanence is Marko Basa.
Important news on the "market" of Antonio Conte's national team: Gabriele Oriali has officially accepted the position of team manager of Italy, where he will cover the role that was held by Gigi Riva for many years.
