AC Milan Transfer News: Ibrahimovic to Man City and Montolivo Officially Signs

The Serie A season ended just last weekend and AC Milan is already engulfed in transfer news and rumours.

The club has already brought in two new midfielders and re-signed an old favourite—Massimo Ambrosini—for another season. Now the club may be hot on the heels of one or two more after they chose not to re-sign the likes of Gennaro Gattuso and Mark Van Bommel. 

These moves could be overshadowed by the sale of one of the club's big names. Here is this week's Milan transfer news.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Man City?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic not only had his best season in a Rossoneri shirt, but also his best season to date in Italian football. 

However, there is no denying Milan is a one-sided team with the big Swede leading the line. Recently, the striker was linked to Real Madrid—a club possibly set to lose striker Gonzalo Higuian to Juventus—though those rumours have quieted of late.

This week Manchester City is the club allegedly in contact with Milan over Ibrahimovic's signature. Roberto Mancini is said to be interested in signing Ibrahimovic to replace Carlos Tevez or Mario Balotelli, depending on their own possible transfers away from Manchester City.

Thus far Milan's Adriano Galliani has denied any negotiations have taken place. 

Midfielders Officially Signed

This week Milan officially announced the signing of two new and long-rumoured midfielders to the club. The first is Mali international Bakaye Traore, who has signed from French side AS Nancy. Traore has arrived on a free transfer and at 27-years old will bring the combined age of the club's midfield down dramatically.

Traore will be joined by another 27-year old in the shape of Riccardo Montolivo. The Italian also joins on a free transfer, leaving Fiorentina after a below average season by his standards. 

According to Rossoneri Blog, Montolivo will be used in a deep-lying playmaker role. It is the same role Andrea Pirlo made famous with the club, however, last season the position was typically manned by a defensive midfielder to protect the back four.

Milan Bid for PSV Midfielder

According to Forzaitalianfootball.com, Milan has put in a bid for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Kevin Strootman.

The 22-year old is in high demand and it is believed several top clubs in Europe are after his signature. The central midfielder only moved to PSV last summer following a season at FC Utrecht and three seasons at Sparta Rotterdam prior to that. 

Strootman scored twice in 30 matches last season for PSV and it is thought he is keen on moving to the Rossoneri. Milan has a long history of signing Dutch players and that could help to lure the midfield man to the club. 

Possible Squad Player

In surprise news, Marco Rigoni has been linked with Milan. The 32-year old midfielder played with Novara last season where he tallied 11 goals.

With Milan allowing several midfielders to leave already, and possibly more, Rigoni may be a cheap backup option for the club. 

Novara was relegated after one year in the top-flight and his signature may come at a reasonable price. Rigoni featured 35 times for Novara in 2011-12 and his durability could be extremely valuable to the Rossoneri.  

Knockdown Prices

Milan is keen on making both Alberto Aquilani and Maxi Lopez apart of the squad for next season. However, the club is unwilling to pay Liverpool full price for Aquilani and the club is hopeful they can sign Lopez for slightly less than planned.

The club is interested in signing Aquilani but only for around 3 million euros. This is far less than what Liverpool originally hoped, however, Aquilani has not been in the Reds plans for some time. Even with another manager coming into the club, it is expected Aquilani will be one of the unwanted. 

Another stumbling block, however, is Aquilani's wages. They are expected to be around 4 million euros next season and Milan will only sign him if those wages are reduced.

Lopez is also currently in negotiations with Milan and both sides are hopeful his parent club, Catania, will allow Lopez to move to Milan for less than originally agreed. 

The two clubs had pre-arranged an 8 million euro fee for the Argentine. However, Milan hopes to get him for one or two million less. 

Lopez rarely played for Catania last season before his move to Milan, and the Sicilian club may be willing to part with him for slightly less that expected.

Catania will welcome a new manager to the club this summer after Vincenzo Montella agreed to return to Roma. Despite his departure, Catania is still interested in selling the striker.

Follow Drew Farmer on Twitter @calciofarmer. Drew also writes for the Italian soccer website Forzaitalianfootball.com and has been featured on EPLTalk.com and Majorleaguesoccertalk.com