Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Should Let Alberto Aquilani Stay in Milan

AC Milan has shown interest in permanently holding on to Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani, according to the Telegraph, and the Reds would be smart to let him walk.

As the report notes, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said, “Before August 31, another midfielder will arrive; it could be Aquilani or somebody else.”

Aquilani joined Liverpool in 2009 but has spent the last two seasons on loan in Italy. He played one season with Juventus and this past year with Milan.

The 27-year-old plays best as a possessive central midfielder. He can provide stability and accurate passes from the middle of the pitch. 

With Milan this past season, he connected on 87.1 percent of his passes in Serie A matches, according to Whoscored.com. 

Aquilani is a fine player, but he is redundant on the Liverpool roster. The Reds already have Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam, both of whom performed well at this same position last season.

Former manager Kenny Dalglish explained the reason for letting Aquilani spend another season in Italy to LiverpoolFC.com and said, "When he came back, his pre-season training was excellent. We gave him a few games; he did well in those games. But the problem for us was trying to get him in the team. We couldn't get him in the team.”

New boss Brendan Rodgers will certainly need to add midfielders, but he needs players who can attack, not ones that prefer to play deep.

The situation that Dalglish explained still holds true today, and Aquilani simply does not have a place on the roster.

Milan is genuinely interested in holding on to him, and Liverpool loses nothing by letting him go. This will be one of the easiest decisions Rodgers has to make this summer.

Aquilani is better off in Milan, and Liverpool is better off with the money they will receive for him. Rodgers should get this deal done as quickly as possible and start to look for players that score goals and can play in front of Adams and Leiva.