Chelsea and Man City Battle for AC Milan Midfield Maestro
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Roberto Mancini is ready to battle Carlo Ancelotti to land AC Milan’s midfield ace Andrea Pirlo.
The star is set to leave the San Siro on a free transfer, because Milan want him to accept a substantial pay-cut in exchange for a new deal as they try to trim their wage bill.
Chelsea’s former Milan boss Ancelotti remains keen on the Italy playmaker after failing to land him last year and will try again – if he’s still in charge this summer.
Manchester City struggled for creativity when Adam Johnson was injured recently and manager Mancini feels Pirlo could bring a different dimension to his developing side.
He is also attracted by his compatriot’s experience – Pirlo has won many top honours in the game, including the Champions League and World Cup.
Mancini feels he needs seen-it-all operators such as Pirlo in his squad as he builds a title-winning team at Eastlands, especially as Patrick Vieira is widely expected to quit this summer.
SOURCE: Daily Mirror
It seems that Andrea Pirlo’s lengthy spell at the San Siro is set to come to an abrupt halt due to wage demands that the 31 year old Italian international is not willing to give in to. Therefore he is being presented with two options to significantly increase his bank balance as well as to forge a new era in his footballing career.
After almost a decade in the AC Milan first team there is little that Pirlo has not achieved and one can see why both Chelsea and Man City would want to sign the talented midfielder, regardless of the fact that he may only have a few years left in the tank.
To be fair Pirlo’s game has never been about speed so perhaps there is still much he can achieve. Chelsea however appear to be looking to deal with their ageing squad so not sure how this transfer would fit into those plans. Also taking into account Carlo Ancelotti has the likes of Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Ramires and John Obi Mikel to squeeze into the centre of his midfield, one wonders where the AC man will fit?
Manchester City may have more need for Pirlo’s creativeness as they can appear quite brittle going forward and clearly Roberto Mancini will no alot about a player he has crossed swords with on a number of occasions.
