Andrea Pirlo

[EskWeston 696]

totally agree, Esk, 30+ aint really gonna help our mifield, Ballack and Lampard are both in there 30s, and Pirlo would be another.. need as many young players as poss.

And don't forget Deco is still here too.....

[TrueChelseaBlue 105]

Exactly... hence why we need more young talent

[Milan 17,835]

AC Milan general manager Adriano Galliani insists there has been no bid from Chelsea for Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

'We have never begun negotiations,' he said. 'There was never an offer for Pirlo from Chelsea. So the problem does not exist.'

[the wes 7,212]

Chelsea have been linked with an £8.6million move for AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo that would see Claudio Pizarro and England Under 21 defender Michael Mancienne go in the other direction.

Reports in Italy have long been expecting 30-year-old Pirlo to follow his former boss Carlo Ancelotti to Stamford Bridge, despite Milan's insistence that he is not for sale and the player saying he is happy to stay at the San Siro.

But Ancelotti is a huge admirer of his former Rossoneri lynchpin and has sanctioned a formal move for the Italy international, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Catch me if you can: AC Milan captain Andrea Pirlo (right) gives potential future Chelsea team-mate Andriy Shevchenko the runaround in Baltimore last week

Chelsea captain John Terry revealed this week that owner Roman Abramovich had assured him that the club were still ambitious and ready to sign star players.

Capturing the midfield author of Italy's 2006 World Cup success would be a start.

Ciao! Claudio Pizarro (right) tries to get to know Milan midfielder Rino Gattuso a bit better

With Milan desperate to sign a striker, Chelsea are willing to offload Peru international Pizarro, as well as offering Mancienne on a year's loan.

The Italian giants have failed to land any of their three favoured targets to lead the forward line. Wolfsburg have dismissed all admirers of Edin Dzeko, Sevilla have priced Luis Fabiano well above what the Italians are prepared to pay and long-term target Emmanuel Adebayor left Arsenal for Manchester City.

Milan fear they will be priced out of a move for Real Madrid's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Pizarro could be the perfect solution, though they are also considering Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner.

Bright future: Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne in action against Club America in Arlington at the weekend

Pizarro, 30, tempted Milan last season while impressing on loan at Werder Bremen, though, conversely, impressing Ancelotti then has tempted the Italian to give him a chance at Chelsea.

Pizarro is under contract for another two years and happy to make a go of things in London if he gets opportunities to play in the first team.

Milan boss Leonardo also wants a defender, particularly a left-back, and are thought to admire Mancienne's versatility, even if the 21-year is more comfortable with his right foot.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1202689/Chelsea-table-Andrea-Pirlo-offer-Pizarro-Mancienne-head-AC-Milan.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0MY6rxgMK

[EskWeston 696]

Hmmm, many points on this one.

1. Not sure still if Pirlo is the type of player we need. Not to mention signing 30 year olds should be something we should steer well clear of!

2. Pizarro can go. We have more than enough forwards and it would be pointless to keep him here.

3. Mancienne on loan to AC Milan? Is he going to get more playing time at Milan than at Chelsea? I doubt that very much.....

[chrismada9 1,948]

Don't want Andrea Pirlo!!!

[atotheo 0]

dont worry. Ancelotti said he wants to use Mikel in the 'Pirlo role'. So I dont think he will come 2 Chelsea, or I hope he dosent come 2 Chelsea.

[the wes 7,212]

AC Milan will ask Chelsea to up their offer for star midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

But the Italians are open to doing a deal for the 30-year-old, despite insisting earlier this summer that he was not for sale.

Reports in Italy on Monday said the Blues had offered £8.6million and Peru striker Claudio Pizarro for Pirlo, with defender Michael Mancienne also moving to the San Siro on a year-long loan.

Milan are in the processing of remodelling their team and transfer strategy after the sale of Kaka to Real Madrid for £56m enabled them to wipe out their debts.

They remain concerned that they rely on too many players at the end of their careers with little re-sale value and owner Silvio Berlusconi wants players aged under 23 and has all but banned the future signing of those over 30.

Milan are keen on Pizarro but want at least another £2m as part of the deal with Chelsea. However, they know Pirlo is unlikely to attract such a high bid next summer and his £100,000 a week after-tax wages are a huge drain on their finances.New boss Leonardo wants a striker and a defender and the club believe they could probably pay both out of the amount they are handing over to Pirlo.

Milan are in Germany for the Audi Cup with Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Boca Juniors.

Leonardo had a meeting on Tuesday evening with general manager Adriano Galliani to discuss the club's strategy.

Pizarro is 30 but he is paid just £55,000 a week in England and Milan are interested after missing out on Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko, Sevilla's Luis Fabiano and Emmanuel Adebayor, while they fear being priced out of a move for Real Madrid's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner is an option.

New Stamford Bridge boss Carlo Ancelotti is keen on a midfielder despite the squad seeming to be overloaded with the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien John Mikel Obi, Joe Cole and Deco.

Ancelotti relied on Pirlo to deliver quality from his Milan midfield last season and sees him doing the same role at Stamford Bridge after being knocked back in an approach for Liverpool's Xabi Alonso earlier this summer.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1202950/Chelsea-told-Andrea-Pirlo-bid-AC-Milan-prepare-offload-expensive-veterans.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0Me6NRQR7

[Igor 0]

We don t need this man at all and any Milan players.

[Clevemayer 764]

plz not

[chrismada9 1,948]

I've said it once, I'll say it again......

I DO NOT WANT PIRLO!!!!

Edited July 29, 2009 by CJ Revo

[warnie_666 1,081]

Its just Paper Talk.

Where will he play?

Lampard/Joe Cole

Zirkov/Malouda-------Essien/Joe Cole/Sinclair

-----Mikel/Ballck/Essien

And..I am not even counting Deco...

Id be disappointed if he sign another bench warmer.

[Term-X 7,891]

this is exactly like scolari signing deco

another pointless old man.

[the wes 7,212]

AC MILAN have turned down a player-plus-cash offer from Chelsea for midfield ace Andrea Pirlo. New Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti is keen on bringing the Italian playmaker to Stamford Bridge after coaching him while in charge of the Serie A giants.

And he is reported to have tabled a bid of around £8.6million for the Italy international, with Claudio Pizzaro used as a makeweight in the deal.

But the Italians value Pirlo in the £20m bracket and are refusing to lower their asking price.

Milan's general manager, Adriano Galliani, revealed the Blues had tabled an offer for the 30-year-old, but confirmed it had been turned down.

He said: "I returned to the sender, because we are not interested."

Edited July 30, 2009 by the wes

[Kez 2,727]

GOOD! & hopefully the club is not crazy enough to offer 20 million for a 30 year old

[chrismada9 1,948]

totally agree Kez!!

We should be using the money we have to buy quality players like Sneijder or Pato or Agüero

I just hope we're not going to do the same kind of mistake we made in 2007, when we decided to sign a 31-year-old Belletti instead of Daniel Alves when he was still at Sevilla.

Edited July 30, 2009 by CJ Revo

[the wes 7,212]

AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo is set to become a Chelsea player next week.

Corriere dello Sport says a meeting has been scheduled at Milan's headquarters in Via Turati for Monday with Chelsea officials.

It is as yet unclear how much Milan will receive for Pirlo, though initial reports suggest Chelsea will pay £21m over two years.

Pirlo has told his AC Milan team-mates that he had appeared in his last derby when AC Milan faced Inter in Boston at the weekend. Chelsea are ready to offer him a four-year deal worth £100,000 a week.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

According to Goal.com ( poor source I know ) Pirlo is a step closer to Chelsea having said his goodbyes to his Milan team mates while Chelsea and AC Milan still talk about the possibility of Pirlo moving to London.

Personally I cant believe how negative some people are about this deal , some even going as far as to compare it to the Deco deal. Huge difference between the two is that Deco had been washed up and playing poorly for 2-3 seasons at Barca , while Pirlo is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise average Milan side. Granted he is pushing on in years but with his style of play running really isnt that much of a factor. Ive seen him play a few games for Milan last season and for Italy and the guy still has a tremendous amount of talent. You might say he is too slow for this league but look at what Paul Scholes did for Man Utd a couple of years back , he was their star midfielder in a premier league and champions league winning season , I think Pirlo could potentially do the same for us , Ive always rated the guy very highly and I still do , what the African cup of Nations this year and Essien and Mikel leaving us I dont think it would be such a bad thing to have Pirlo stepping into that role. Also you have to consider that we have long lacked a bit of guile and creativety in our midfield , well thats what Pirlo brings.