Midfielder

Chelsea's success last season really stimulated too many traditional giants. Not only are they direct competitors of the Premier League, but traditional big-name teams like AC Milan and Real Madrid were also stimulated by their triple crown. They lost. The Rossoneri were really depressed after losing the Champions League final.

Originally, they lost to Chelsea in the decisive battle, which already made the two powerful figures Galliani and Berlusconi a little embarrassed in front of everyone. They also did not go smoothly in the transfer market. Serie A is now The competitiveness for outstanding players is indeed gradually weakening.

Even Galliani, a veteran in the transfer market, has to admit that the situation in the entire Serie A has become very bad because of their weak economy, and they cannot absorb those outstanding players at all.

Moreover, the rise of the Premier League and the high salaries they can pay have become the biggest obstacles for Serie A to recruit outstanding players. England's attraction to top stars is increasing day by day.

If just a few years ago, Serie A stars like Zola and Vialli could still dominate the Premier League and show off their talents, this situation is gone forever.

Only players like Zidane, Kaká, and Shevchenko can be recognized by the Premier League giants. Those outdated old guys have long been no longer the first choice for talent selection in the Premier League. Now only big names are recognized here.

In the past two years, in Serie A, apart from players like Shevchenko and Kaká who can still compete for the World Footballer, those local rising stars and players with a little bit of strength are almost out of the question.

Not only is the Premier League gradually eroding the appeal of Serie A, La Liga's old rivals, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are also eating away at the Italians' golden brand. Serie A can be said to be full of crises.

Even the wily Galliani has nothing to do about this. The overall decline of Serie A is an indisputable fact. The deterioration of economic conditions has almost destroyed this "mini World Cup".

Bankruptcy, reorganization, trusteeship, these things are like a vicious cycle. Teams like Lazio that have been able to win the league championship must face a situation of collapse and bankruptcy.

Not to mention how the mid-to-lower Serie A teams are struggling now, even traditional giants like AC Milan lack the appeal they used to have for players with some strength.

Even if some newly promoted players are invited by AC Milan, they have to wait and see. After all, compared with Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League can offer more generous transfer conditions, and they will attract more attention.

Not to mention getting rid of those new stars, even if Galliani finds some practical veterans, it seems a bit difficult. Berlusconi's current energy is all used in politics.

Well, as for women, this old guy doesn't pay much attention to his team anyway.

Perhaps for the prime minister who is a little tired of football, what AC Milan can bring him may only be the votes of those fans, but now is not the necessary moment for him to participate in the election.

So for the team, Berlusconi will invest, but he will not spend money like Chelsea.

At least for now, the bald old man doesn't think his team has declined.

Just like what he said after losing in the Champions League final, "AC Milan is still the most competitive team in the Champions League. This failure does not mean that we cannot make a comeback."

Maybe this was what Berlusconi said, but the subtext is also obvious, that is, that guy thinks his team is no worse than others. If this is the case, why should I throw a lot of money at it?

The chairman is so out of tune, how much do you still expect AC Milan to invest in the transfer market? Even Galliani himself said that if you want to buy powerful players, you must first be prepared to sell them.

And there are still a lot of people selling. Galliani is not satisfied with many of the players they have bought, especially people like Kaladze, who receive high salaries and cannot perform as they should.

The team's main framework cannot be moved. The main players like Pirlo and Kaká must be retained. This will also allow AC Milan to continue to remain competitive in the league and Champions League. They do not want to fall into free fall.

But buying a player of the level of Ballack or Gerrard is a luxury for AC Milan. Anyway, it is impossible for Galliani to spend 30 to 40 million euros easily.

AC Milan is not only unable to spend so much money to buy superstars, but they are also a bit unable to afford some veteran players they think can be of great use. For example, Crespo's transfer fee is a bit expensive.

Although Chelsea's asking price was a transfer fee of 15 million euros, Kenyon did not bite the price, but even so, Galliani did not immediately make an offer to Chelsea.

Crespo, who went to AC Milan on loan last season, performed very well. In some games, his performance was even more threatening than the real striker Shevchenko. Even Ancelotti said, A shooter who can smell opportunities in front of the goal is exactly the player AC Milan needs most now.

But the transfer fee has become an obstacle to continued cooperation between the two parties, and Kenyon and Mourinho agreed that even if Crespo stays with the team in the new season, he will definitely be able to find his own place.

Especially when Kezman has already transferred away, this Argentine is a strong guarantee on the front line. Of course, if AC Milan can afford the transfer fee, Chelsea will also let him go according to the rules.

However, considering the current state of AC Milan, which is a bit short of money, it is indeed a bit painful for them to pay more than 10 million euros, not to mention that Italians are not used to spending so much money to buy people.

If this is to buy a player of Lampard's age, Galliani may have made a move, but buying a veteran like Crespo who is nearing the end of his career, he does need to consider it.

Whether it is worth it, or what kind of benefits such an investment can bring, all need to be measured.

Although Galliani told Crespo not to rush to accept other people's offers when he talked to him, the Italian guy knew very well that it was really difficult to buy Crespo.

It is probably not an easy thing to get AC Milan to pay so much money for such a veteran.

Their minds are still stuck in the past two or three years, thinking that 20 million can get a player of Ronaldinho's level, and they have the foundation of a wealthy club, which can make many players come to join them on their own initiative.

Just like Jankulovski, who transferred from Udinese as a free agent after the transfer was opened.

However, Galliani's confidence is not without reason. Not long after Jankulovski transferred as a free agent, Inter Milan's former king Vieri also chose to transfer as a free agent.

Moreover, the most famous tank-type killer on the Italian national team's front line also chose to settle on the city's rival AC Milan, which made many Rossoneri fans a little excited.

Although Vieri's state in the past two seasons is no longer as brave as it used to be, it is indeed a bit surprising to be able to pick up such a person for free, especially to get him from his city's rival.

With such a precedent of free transfer, Galliani is not too bad after the transfer is opened. At least his team has several good supplementary soldiers, and it only costs three million in total.

Small-scale investment and repairs in individual positions are Galliani's emergency choice for running the team now. Without a large amount of capital injection, AC Milan also seems a bit weak.

It is estimated that the only club president in the entire Serie A who is willing to spend money is the uncle of Inter Milan. Moratti is definitely willing to invest a lot of money in order to win the league championship and the Champions League trophy.

It's just that this uncle's vision of judging people is really bad. Not only is there no accurate score when buying players, his choice of coaches has indeed made many Inter Milan fans feel depressed.

Mancini's position as coach is not in danger for the time being, but the future of players like Emre will no longer have any connection with the Nerazzurri, and the only way waiting for them is to be cleaned up.

However, after getting rid of the burden of the Turkish midfielder, Inter Milan did dig up the Argentine wizard Veron from Chelsea, and Solari and Samuel also became new players of the Nerazzurri.

But compared with big buyers and sellers in the transfer market like Chelsea, their investment is indeed not that big, and the transfer fees of Serie A may not be as much as those of the top three teams in the Premier League.

Especially after winning the treble, Chelsea can be said to be free in terms of competition and transfer market. Abramovich is ready to defend the title this time.

A treble is just a stimulus for this Russian tycoon. He needs more stimulus to make Chelsea fans remember his name, invest heavily, and start a new round of acquisition storm.

Gerrard's deal is basically a done deal. The only thing missing is the signatures of both parties. Even if Liverpool does not want to let him go, they can't do anything about the pressure within their own team.

Kenyon, who has completed this deal, has not stopped his steps to recruit players. He has dug into Liverpool's corners and Arsenal's side. Chelsea's seduction of Ashley Cole has never stopped. When the transfer market opens, this seduction is even more obvious.

Although Wenger has repeatedly stated that Ashley Cole is not for sale, even the usually calm Wenger is a little overwhelmed by Chelsea's fierce bombing offensive.

The highest price of an English defender is Ferdinand's 30 million transfer fee, but now Chelsea has raised its offer for Ashley Cole to 20 million, which indicates that Wenger's statement of not for sale is likely to be invalid. After all, this price is not something that ordinary people can refuse.

According to the prediction of the English media, this tug-of-war is at most a game of price, and for Wenger and Arsenal, who have just moved to a new stadium and are in urgent need of funds, this is a transfer that cannot be refused.

The only question is where the transfer fee will be finally settled and how much it will cost.

However, a guy like Kenyon who doesn't take money seriously will definitely not care about the acquisition cost this time.

Kenyon is not satisfied with these two transactions. For him, this is just a warm-up.

The midfield has always been Mourinho's top priority for reinforcements, so Kenyon's acquisition pace will not stop just because he has signed Gerrard. There are still many names on his schedule.

But Shevchenko's acquisition proposal encountered unprecedented resistance. Galliani only responded to Kenyon's offer with one sentence, "Want to buy Shevchenko? That's dreaming."

This sentence immediately blocked the possibility of the two sides continuing to talk. Galliani would never indulge the opponent to poach the competitor who defeated him in the Champions League final.

Moreover, after losing Crespo, AC Milan can only rely on Shevchenko and Inzaghi on the front line. No one knows how the newly joined Vieri can recover.

Moreover, as a veteran strong team, being poached so unscrupulously by the opponent, it is estimated that anyone would not be able to resist. Not to mention that Chelsea is just a test now, even if Kenyon really offers, Galliani will not hesitate to reject the other party. This is a minimum dignity issue for AC Milan.

This is also the first hard bone Chelsea has encountered in the transfer market. Although Kenyon has not given up the idea of ​​​​seducing Shevchenko, it seems that it is indeed difficult to sign the Ukrainian now.

Moreover, Shevchenko himself did not express a strong desire to transfer. Even after losing the Champions League, he still told the Milan media that he and AC Milan would challenge the championship again in the new season.

Although Chelsea has his fellow countryman as the club chairman, and Abramovich's conditions for Shevchenko are also generous enough, Shevchenko himself has a process of changing his mentality.

Milan is where he became famous. He was accepted by the entire European football world from here. The Champions League champion and the league champion were all won in Milan. It is indeed a bit difficult to leave.

Not only does Shevchenko have to consider the attitude of the club, but he also has to consider his influence among the fans. After losing to Chelsea, he joined the other side. Maybe he would be called Judas by the fans.

AC Milan fans have never been vegetarians, and Shevchenko has to act cautiously.

So in the face of Kenyon's pound offensive, Shevchenko still chose to stay in the team safely. Although he doesn't know what the future will be like, he will not leave AC Milan for the time being in the new season.

Galliani seemed very satisfied with the choice of his top killer, and he seemed to be demonstrating to Kenyon in this way, he wanted to prove that money is not omnipotent.

Although he was rejected by the Italians, Kenyon's nature as a tycoon in the transfer market was still revealed. With strong economic support as a backing, he felt like a killer.

When facing those traditional giants, his checks may not be omnipotent, but when facing some other marginal league teams, Kenyon's money offensive can be said to be invincible.

As the weakest group among the five major leagues, even a quasi-giant like Lyon has no way to resist the poaching from the Premier League and Serie A. Their players will be lost in large numbers every season, especially those who have made their mark in the European war. They can't keep them at all.

Kenyon's check hit the door of Lyon accurately this time. He offered 30 million euros to acquire Lyon's Ghanaian midfielder Essien, a price that the other party could not refuse.

Although there are many people who like Kenyon, no one is as rich as Chelsea. That is 30 million euros, but Kenyon seems to have never considered how much money it is.

What is spending money like water? Just look at Kenyon. Lyon and Essien himself almost didn't refuse, and they just agreed directly. After all, this money is really impossible for them to refuse.

30 million has exceeded Lyon's total expenses for a season. Rejection? Unless you are an idiot.

Manchester United and Bayern Munich, who are also interested in Essien, saw Chelsea snatch him away from them this time. For Ferguson, this is not the first time he has been robbed by the other party.

Before signing Essien, Wright Phillips, who had just joined the England national team, was also kidnapped to Stamford Bridge by Kenyon for 20 million pounds. This madness is also frightening.

For a new rookie who has just emerged, he can spend so much money. It can be seen that Chelsea will definitely not be stingy with a large investment in order to defend the title on both fronts this time, and they are even crazier than last season.

After having Duff and Robben, Chelsea also needs to buy wingers. Chelsea's ambition to dominate the Premier League has been placed in front of everyone. FA Cup? League Cup? Maybe they all want to win.

Fighting on two fronts or three fronts, Chelsea needs to maintain strong competitiveness in every battlefield. After winning the treble, this crazy blue army needs more trophies.

To build a dynasty belonging to Chelsea in the shortest time, Abramovich has prepared enough pounds for this goal. The acquisition wave is just part of their plundering of the championship.

Focusing on their own championship team, continue to strengthen the team's lineup, not just the main lineup.

After Mourinho invited Aurelio Perreira to come, a team building and dynasty concept built from the youth team has gradually taken root in Chelsea.

The Russian tycoon not only wants to buy people now, but he will also cultivate his own stars from Chelsea's echelon in the future. This blue dynasty will continue to extend and become a new legend.

Perhaps the blue storm that has been raging for a season will continue to blow in the new season.

Or, its power will be even more violent. . .