A lot has happened over the last 24 hours, with Sandro Tonali now just being one step away from Newcastle in a deal worth close to €80m. And AC Milan have already identified his replacement, a report claims.
The Tonali-Newcastle news broke last night and the Sky Italia, among others, are reporting that the midfielder has said ‘yes’ to the move. Milan turned down the offer of €70m and have countered with €80m, with an agreement now close.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Milan have identified Davide Frattesi as the replacement. Sassuolo have slapped a €40m price tag on the 23-year-old and the Rossoneri could come close to that in order to beat the competition of Juventus and Inter).
Frattesi bagged seven goals for Sassuolo this past season and is currently on international duty with Italy. In the Nations League game against the Netherlands, he scored a goal and assisted another, with the big clubs in Italy watching on.
No one can replace the love I had for Sandro
God bless you. The zeal, love, and commitment with which he plays, I doubt that will be replaced easily.
It’s good business, same as with Sheva and Kaka, if it makes financial sense do it, Frattesi is a fully fledged Italian International.
Is Fratessi a DM? I thought he is Mezzala.
WTF
No wonder maldini quit
Buddy why do you think Sandro isn’t in the national team, Frattesi kept him out. Good signing if we get him, a goalscoring box to box midfielder.
No actually. Tonali was asked by the Italian U21 coach cause he is still eligible for the competition, otherwise he will be in the senior squad already.
You’re right
They’re not even the same position. You make no sense.
No, if you owned Milan you will also sack him, for losing and wasting resources, we Lost 3 big players who would have giving us a huge capital gain for free
So you sack your sporting directors because of ECONOMIC issues rather than SPORTING issues?
That’s like dismissing a surgeon due to costly surgical operation rather than how successive the surgery went.
Good analogy…
F*ck Red Bird….🤬🤬😡😡
Well done
When did we lost those 3 players? Before Redbird takover and before Redbird renew Maldini!!! Since Redbird renew Maldini, Maldini had not lost first team player for free.
Yes.. I see.
Bad news, boys. Romano is reporting it too now. I think Sandro is heading out. Furlani better come up with stellar replacements. SMS & Fratesi would got the bill.
SMS & Fratesi cannot replace Tonali, their role on the field is different. Moreover, if he leave, the project is dead. Milan was supposed to be top destination, not transit club like Dortmund. This will send damaging message to the squad.
💯 correct.
Real Madrid sold Varane and Casemiro when the price was lucrative. That doesn’t make them a feeder club. I lived through the time when Milan sold Kaka and the banter era. While selling Tonali is heartbreaking, we are used to it. Just hope the club can reinvest some of the money into quality player like Fratessi and SMS
Varane and Casemiro was past their peak.
As much as it pains me, but if we can rebuild the team with this, it’s a good sell.
if we get SMS & Fratesi in return + Thuram, the 1st 11 is gonna be stronger than before
The problem is if this deal goes through, SMS and Fratesi’s price will increase!!
“if we get SMS & Fratesi in return + Thuram, the 1st 11 is gonna be stronger than before ”
This! Much better to sell Tonali than Leao, Theo or Maignan. Tonali is easily replaced. The others not so much.
SMS and Fratesi are not DM, they are CM/AM.
So? How does that contradict anything I just said?
No Tonali replacement in there.
“No Tonali replacement in there.”
Evolving. To improve you need to evolve and adapt. Applies to tactics too.
So you expect Pioli to change to 4-3-3? What happen to the AM?
“So you expect Pioli to change to 4-3-3? What happen to the AM?”
There are other tactics too. And if there isn’t, one always invent a new one. The rules don’t say one has to choose from 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.
@bb did you just say NOT to sell Leao?????? Pigs are flying alongside that donkey @flyingturtle LOL
No guys, Tonali is the icon and symbol of Milan’s resurrection….
His love together with his fighting spirit he had brought in every Milan match is irreplaceable…
GoodBye Tonali…😭
“his fighting spirit he had brought in every Milan match is irreplaceable”
Nope. It’s not irreplaceable either. One could have said the same thing when Gattuso left. Or Cutrone. There will always be “someone else”.
It would be hard to rebuild the team with the damage done to team spirit. If this happen, Maignan, Theo, and Leao will no longer trust the project as it is apparent Milan work like Dortmund instead of Real Madrid. They will know that they are not playing for a club where top players play at their peak but for a club that young players learn before moving to other club.
I can’t predict the future, but that’s definitely a possibility.
Another possibility is to reinvest the money wisely, like what Juve did back in the day when they sold Zidan to Madrid and we know how they replaced him
Damage done to team spirit? Tonali chooses to leave. People will get over it. It’s not like half of Dortmund players now want to leave because they sold Bellingham.
Sure, Tonali loved Milan. Apparently not enough. Kaká loved Milan too. So did Zlatan & T.Silva. Sh*t happens and people get over it.
Milan chose to sell first (players cannot accept before the club allow it). It show them that even the key players who made monetary sacrifice are just business as usual for them.
Does the players like Maignan, Theo, and Leao think it is business as usual when they sign for lower salary? No, if it’s business as usual, they won’t accept low salary, they would chose other club, ask higher salary, or not renew so they can move to other clubs which give them more salary.
They lower their salary demand because they believe they are part of important project. Now that they know they are just removable peace despite that sacrifice, it surely damage their spirit. They will ponder why they are here, why don’t they move to rich clubs where they can get higher salary and have owner who are willing to spend for success.
“Milan chose to sell first (players cannot accept before the club allow it). It show them that even the key players who made monetary sacrifice are just business as usual for them.”
So this is news to you? It has been public information that anyone is for sale if the price is right. That applies to any club and any player in the world. It’s not like Tonali made objections to the transfer as Milan said they’d negotiate if Tonali is willing to go.
“Does the players like Maignan, Theo, and Leao think it is business as usual when they sign for lower salary? No, if it’s business as usual, they won’t accept low salary, they would chose other club, ask higher salary, or not renew so they can move to other clubs which give them more salary.
They lower their salary demand because they believe they are part of important project. Now that they know they are just removable peace despite that sacrifice, it surely damage their spirit. They will ponder why they are here, why don’t they move to rich clubs where they can get higher salary and have owner who are willing to spend for success.”
LOL. No one is forcing Tonali out. He doesn’t have to leave and it’s the players choice. Same applies to Maignan et co. If they want to go, they can go. If they want to stay, they can stay. No one can force anything these days. If that were the case, don’t you think Milan would have thrown bakayokos out and kept kessies etc?
The will of the player is what counts most.
You are wrong, the will of the club is what matter most. Without club willingness, players under long term contract don’t have a choice.
And Milan never said they will only negotiate if Tonali willing to go, they said they will negotiate if the transfer fee is lucrative. It hurts when the club tell you they need the money more than you.
“It hurts when the club tell you they need the money more than you.”
LOL. Like every player doesn’t recognize that they can be sold if the right offer comes along. Get real. Everybody knows it. Hurts? Some say it hurts when kessies etc leave the club for free.
Don’t think there’s any chance of this happening. As many others have said in the past, italian players are overvalued, which is exactly the opposite of what the owners are looking for. We’ll probably get some no-name from France or Belgium as his replacement.
I think you spelled English wrong
🤣🤣🤣🤣💔
Why sell Tonali and then buy frattesi for 40 mil. It dosent make sense. At least we now what Tonali can do for the team.
Do you watch Serie A? Frattesi has been on fire for the last few seasons. Why do you think Mancini starts him in the national team over Tonali?
I only watch serie A my friend. But to sell a starter and lose that chemistry in the team and gamble on someone else who almost cost the same is not so wise in my view.
They will not go for frattesi if his price tag is 40mil.
What are you even talking about? Tonali is in the U21 Italian team. Also Frattesi is a atacking mid, he dose not even plays the same role as Tonali. Also Tonali is valued double of what Frattesi is valued.
I have seen this comment again and again ..He had a chance but he choose to play for U21..Get your facts right instead of your dumb logic
Those too.
Well Bo just so you know Tonali got 2 goals and 7 assists in 34 games while Fratessi got 7 gols and 0 assists in 36 games so Tonali has better goal contribution then Frattesi with two less games
One guy played for Ac Milan and the other one played for Sassuolo. Huge difference.
Exactly, he’s been electric in a subpar team, which takes some doing. Even for the national team he’s shown he can compete with Barella whereas Sandro has looked a liability at times playing with Nicolo.
The first one play as DM, the latter play as CM/AM.
If this deal isn’t agreed in advance then Sassuolo will hold us to ransom.
And if it is done then boy I hope he can hit the ground running. It could either be inspired business or the complete undoing of the team; we’ll have to see
It’s more than just contributions, it comes down to versatility too, where Sandro is a destroyer with great passing, Frattesi is a box to box monster, and can even play in the Trequartista role if required. He’s a bit like Locatelli, or even more apt description would be like a combination Bonaventura, Simone Perotta but with better dribbling than both. He can win the ball back and attack with pace and precision. If you haven’t seen him in action i would advise having a look.
The only way I can justify losing tonali is if frattesi and SMS are brought in within a week. If you get 80m for tonali you can get both those players for 60m and have 20m left over for someone big. But needless to say, I can’t believe within a day we are going to lose an ‘untouchable’ but when it’s time to buy somebody it takes us weeks.
If we brought in both those players we’d certainly be stronger because SMS is next level but it pains me to see a milanista who I thought would stay here his entire career. Its going to take a lot of convincing for me to believe in redbird.
Until the 80mil money from Tonali is well-spend (plus initial 30mil transfer budget) I will remain skepctical with this owner. Honestly, I don’t think that they will re-invest this money on player. Yes Milan is healthy financially, but the owner balance still has huge 600mil debt from club acquisition loan.
Prove me wrong, and I will give my full support to this owner and management.
The debt is Redbird’s debt, they can’t pay it with Milan’s money unless they take it out as dividend.
Fratessi and Tonali have same agent, Beppe Risso so it’s great business for everyone. Milan won’t sell Tonali till they have secured Fratessi hence meeting with Risso.
If he leaves…then the player exodus is in motion.
Not really my friend
It will because the ownership unwittingly send a message to the squad that Milan is working as transit club like Dortmund instead of aiming to become top destination like Real Madrid.
What chemistry? Milan’s midfield was their weakness last season. Bennacer and Tonali was not a good pairing. Frattesi is better and you can net $40 mil out of it , it’s a great move for Milan.
goodbye fellow Milan fans
it’s been a pleasure to be a fan for 16 years
but first Ibra retirement, then Cardinale sacked Maldini and now they are selling Tonali
I simply can NOT be a fan of this american Milan..
I value hearth and football over money
I value loyality and this is simply breaking my hearth
this isn’t Milan anymore..
I’ve never been so sad
this is like breaking up with my girlfriend..maybe even worse
I am with you on this one. Redbirds want to finally destroy what we stood for. I am still watching. I am not a fan of just Milan but selling tonali is like selling our hearts. A young man who believes in and loves Milan. Milan is not Borussia Dortmund but more like Real Madrid, Bayern and Man United. But with American ownership, I don’t expect less. I am losing my passion for football daily. Football is more of money making ventures than the love and passion.
I too will end my milan love journey if this come true, this will become most painfull moment after kaka sales.. AC Milan is no more the ac milan i love.. seems berlusconi has taken the real AC Milan with him to the afterlife..
Would have loved to see Tonali Frattesi Bennacer in a midfield 3 but seems that’s just too many italians for Milan these days.
Agree 100%.
I only hope we don’t end up killing Tonali’s career, just because our owners don’t want to cough out money to buy players. We did it with Kaka years ago. Frattesi might do well, if they can get him, but, Tonali was a Milanista through and through. Wish both players the best.
LoL.. if RB sell tonali gor 80mil, only 20 mil max will be reinvest.. why did they wanted to use all the fund to reinvest in already strong team with all the free player around.. Frattesi can come if fee 15mil max and 1.8mil salary.. sms can come if he agree 3mil salary.. goodluck
I agree with u. This Red Sh***t can never spend all the money from Tonali sales to acquire other players. The highest they can spend outta it is 30M. The remaining is going for stadium or to clear debt. The owner is using our support to finance his acquisition
Frattesi loan 1 years with loan fee 5m euro with obligation to buy 30m euro enough to convince sassoulo. They always sell player use formula loan with obligation to buy. I will be disappoint if RedBird not reinvest that 70m euro cash to buy frattesi + samuel chukwu for RW
Why are u worriying so much
We still had the one and only Rade Krunic
This team is a Circus now.
In term of brand building, selling Tonali is cardinal(e) sin.
Sell Tonali for 80M, buy Frattessi and Gulen for 58M, niw you habe money for another player.
I dont see a problem with that ar all. Just dont sell Leao olease
There us a right side of the sell of tonali.the bright is Milan can now get thuram,guler and frattesi.also milan can get morten huljmand as a replacement.and by the time Milan get rid of messias,Ballo,revuc,origi and all other dead weights.they will still have some money to invest on more players.
Milan can get them (except Fratesi) without selling Tonali.
So you prefer Fratesi, Thuram, Guler, Huljmand over Tonalo, Thuram, Guler, Huljmand?
Where are the people who said that Cardinale cared about Milan. We had already heard rumours about Theo and now this. Tonali is almost a done deal. Cardinale will probably sell all the top players and buy cheap alternatives to generate high revenue. All they care about is the business. Next target would then be to renew Maignan and then immediately sell him to the highest bidder.