Milan Should Take Advantage Of City Overhaul

As I wrote yesterday, Manchester City must sell at least thirteen players, depending on what happens with the desire to buy other players, in order to achieve a twenty five man roster as required now by the Premier League (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/424948-sorry-its-the-rules-manchester-city-must-sell ).

I also wrote regarding Milan vice president Adriano Galliani's remarks that Milan were done in the transfer market (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/424768-adriano-galliani-this-is-the-team ).

Galliani may say "this is the team," but how often has Milan lead we the supporters astray?

As a Milan fan, I urge the club to not finalize the team yet with about three weeks left of the transfer window.

As someone writing an analytical piece about football, I think that Milan should take advantage of City's current predicament.

As I have said time and time again, I believe that Milan's primary need is a midfielder. With one more solid midfielder to join Flamini and Pirlo on that three man line, I believe Milan can compete.

However, even after Milan reportedly placed a bid for Japanese star Keisuke Honda, nothing has changed. The only additions to the club remain Mario Yepes, Sokratis, and Marco Amelia, two defenders, one goalkeeper.

From a logical point of view, City already have a large bank account to play with. Just when you think they cannot possibly have anymore money, they surprise you and they have another 100 million dollars! Seeing as they are already one of the richest clubs in the world, and seeing as they need to sell players fast, the clubs that are interested could be the ones pulling the strings.

This puts the ball in Milan's attacking third.

Milan's biggest problem has been the fear to spend large sums of money. Excluding Ronaldinho and Huntelaar, many of Milan's recent moves have been low sum or free deals, including a lot of loans (Senderos, Flamini, Amelia, Mancini, Beckham).

With City's current problem, Milan may be able to play with the figures and acquire a quality midfielder at a decent price.

The name that sticks out in my mind would be Nigel de Jong.

The twenty four year old Dutchman had a terrific World Cup. While Sneijder was the midfielder doing all the scoring, de Jong still was able to be a crucial aspect to both the attacking and defensive portions of the Netherlands' run to the World Cup Final. De Jong played in six matches, missing only the semifinal due to yellow card suspension.

He is not known as a goalscorer. In fact, during the entire 2009/2010 campaign, he did not earn a single goal or assist. He was, however, a regular in the Manchester City lineup, appearing in thirty four of City's thirty eight Premier League matches, usually only absent due to yellow card suspension (he acquired seven yellow cards during the season).

He impressed with his ability to play both sides of the ball. He has been praised by Manchester City supporters for his hustle and hard work, especially on defense. Though he is no Ronaldo on the ball, he is a strong player, a trait much needed in Serie A.

I think de Jong is a good fit for Milan. Not only is he a strong midfielder, he can also play any of the back four positions, making him versatile. He seems to have Mathieu Flamini-esque attributes: Not typically an offensive minded player, but a workhorse and fantastic holding midfielder.

Having de Jong and Flamini on either side of Pirlo could create great possibilities for Milan. Pirlo would be allowed to press and create options for Ronaldinho, Boriello, and Pato on offense (when all three are healthy and in, Milan's attack could be one, if not the best in Serie A). We could also see a lot more of something that happened regularly last season, particularly on the left side, the outside defender being able to overlap and make runs into the corner to set up crosses, allowing Milan to flood the box.

We saw it often last season, Ronaldinho would get the ball and seem to stall with some footwork on the left corner of the box. Out of the corner of the screen, you would see Luca Antonini come flying down the wing, receive the ball from Ronaldinho who would then curl into the box or create a passing lane near the corner of the box, and the cross would come in.

I saw some great things from Milan's crossing last season. Boriello and Ronaldinho can find many ways to score. Both are especially talented with headers and scissor kicks from crosses so allowing Antonini and the right back, which seems most likely to be Sokratis, the freedom to make that run (depending on the side the ball is on of course), knowing that de Jong and Flamini are back (or even, if necessary in the box), would be an invaluable asset for Milan.

Manchester City have to sell some quality players before the end of the transfer market. Otherwise, they may have to send the players on loan or have them sitting around until December, neither of which are good situations for the Citizens. With the recent additions of David Silva and Yaya Toure, it is quite possible that Nigel de Jong could be a man on the move.

I know that he has not been on the radar yet, but also this rule had not been put in place until recently. With a spot unlikely for de Jong, or if so very little playing time a possibility, a move away from Eastlands could be exactly what the up and coming Dutch star needs. Milan is an ideal location for him. Besides having two Dutchmen, Seedorf and Huntelaar, already in the squad, de Jong could find himself being a vital member of Allegri's squad from day one.

I see Nigel de Jong being a perfect fit at the San Siro. No matter what, Milan needs to do something. After all, if we cannot even beat a team in the Italian third division, how are we supposed to compete with the likes of Inter, Roma, Palermo, Sampdoria, Juventus, Napoli, Genoa, etc.?