Andrea Pirlo - The New Grandpa Pat?

[ant london]

Manchester City are poised to move for Italy ace Andrea Pirlo on a free transfer in the summer.

The Blues have short-listed him as the experienced playmaker they need, especially if they land a Champions League spot next season.

The 31-year-old AC Milan star is out of contract in June and the Serie A giants are desperate to slash their wage bill.

Pirlo is being asked to halve his current £100,000-a-week pay, and, not surprisingly, has refused to entertain the idea.

Juventus have been made favourites to pick up a man who has masterminded two Champions League wins, one Serie A title and an Italian Cup with Milan, as well as being named man of the match as he helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006.

Juve, themselves suffering from the financial crisis which has hit Italian football, may only be able to offer around £60,000, but are prepared to offer him a four-year deal.

City boss Roberto Mancini is a long-time admirer of Pirlo, who sits deep in the midfield for club and country, and has a brilliant range of passing.

The Blues could blow Juve out of the water for wages, but the key could be whether City secure a place in the European elite for next season.

Chelsea have twice tried to sign Pirlo, their manager Carlo Ancelotti being responsible for turning him from an attacking midfielder into a schemer.

There have been reports that Ancelotti will make another move for the player nicknamed ‘The Architect’ this summer, and that Barcelona are also interested.

Pirlo turns 32 in May, but the Blues will lose the old head of Patrick Vieira this summer, the French veteran ready to leave for a swansong to his stellar career in the United States.

Mancini feels Pirlo will offer the guidance and experience which Vieira has brought to the squad for the last season and a half, but also enrich the team with his passing game.

[Wooders]

He's younger than lampard and we'd take him..

[The Man In Blue]

Please let this be true.

[Ted Hughes]

Good addition to the squad imo so long as we don't play him regardless if he gets fucking destroyed.

[Slim]

He will be 32 before he kicks a ball for us and they want £10M for him.

Good player, very good player, but come on.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Fantastic fantastic player. He was never about pace so should still be able to do job for us.

[CityFanFromRome]

My guess is that he's too slow for the Prem; could be useful in CL if we qualify, but he should be signed as backup, nothing more.

[Scatman]

Great player, but I can't help but wonder if he has some hidden defensive abilities that Mancini wants to develop further

[CityFanFromRome]

Great player, but I can't help but wonder if he has some hidden defensive abilities that Mancini wants to develop further

None as far as I know; he's always been partnered with Gattuso, with one doing the destroying and the other (Pirlo) building Milan's moves from the back. His most evident quality is his ability to pick a long pass from any part of the pitch for someone running into space. And he can take mean free kicks too.

[ant london]

My guess is that he's too slow for the Prem; could be useful in CL if we qualify, but he should be signed as backup, nothing more.

Do you mean too slow in terms of his actual pace or the pace at which he can play his game

[Rag_hater]

Sounds like the kind of player who would improve us.
Not very fast I don't think is an issue for a midfielder.
A winger or striker probably but for me a player in the middle should have passing as his main ability.

[ant london]

Sounds like the kind of player who would improve us.
Not very fast I don't think is an issue for a midfielder.
A winger or striker probably but for me a player in the middle should have passing as his main ability.

Agree with this. Think that at least one new wide player with genuine pace AND the ability to whip in decent ball is a must for the summer spending spree

[Bingo Lewis]

If he's brought in as Vieira mkII then yes please, but if Bob thinks he's gonna come in and make us into a championship winning team playing 50 games out of 50 then he's wrong. Backup for the last 20 in big games where we're fighting to keep hold of a lead then ok.

[BlueinBosnia]

Manchester City are poised to move for Italy ace Andrea Pirlo on a free transfer in the summer.

The 31-year-old AC Milan star is out of contract in June and the Serie A giants are desperate to slash their wage bill.

He will be 32 before he kicks a ball for us and they want £10M for him.

Good player, very good player, but come on.

Are you taking the mick, or is there another source about €10m?

[Slim]

Manchester City are poised to move for Italy ace Andrea Pirlo on a free transfer in the summer.

The 31-year-old AC Milan star is out of contract in June and the Serie A giants are desperate to slash their wage bill.

He will be 32 before he kicks a ball for us and they want £10M for him.

Good player, very good player, but come on.

Are you taking the mick, or is there another source about €10m?

Something you should know about me, everything anyone posts on here, I read yesterday.

Manchester City are being linked with a surprise £10million summer move for legendary AC Milan midfielder, Andrea Pirlo. The creative central midfielder, who has been with the Rossoneri since 2001, has become a target for Roberto Mancini, whose City side recently limped out of the Europa League in the round of 16.

Pirlo is widely-respected throughout Europe as a supremely gifted player who has almost made the deep-lying play-maker position his own. The 31-year-old midfielder has had a glittering career so far, winning Serie A and the Champions League (twice) with Milan, and the World Cup with Italy.

Having played for Brescia and Milan’s arch-rivals, Inter, before joining the Rossoneri, Pirlo has spent the last ten years at the top of European football. A superb free-kick taker, the Flero-native is equally famous for his comfortable style on the ball, his ability to maintain possession and his unerringly accurate passing.

Mancini already has a number of options in the more defensive central midfield position, with kung-fu master Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Patrick Vieira currently featuring, but with Vieira looking likely to leave in the summer, the arrival of Pirlo would add some outstanding quality to the mix and promote even tougher competition for places.

However, the experienced Italian has been struggling for fitness this term, making only 10 appearances in all competitions and, at 31, Pirlo may not have that long left at the top of the game. But an Indian summer in England could prove beneficial for both player and club.

If Mancini could pull off the signing of Andrea Pirlo, it seems certain that, should he maintain his fitness, the playmaker extraordinaire would raise the standard of the City squad and bring the experience of the biggest stages that City’s younger players would most definitely benefit from.

As to whether Milan would be willing to let Pirlo go; although he has served them with distinction for many years, the Milanese giants are top of Serie A largely without his input, so if the management were particularly brutal in their approach they could decide they want to cash in on the midfielder while they are still able to demand a decent fee for him. Contract talks have stalled in recent weeks and Pirlo could finally leave the San Siro this summer, after flirting with a move to Chelsea in 2009.

It may appeal to the long-time servant of Milan himself to try his hand in the Premier League before he retires and the opportunity to join an improving City side would be an ideal chance to do that. However, Roberto Mancini will have a battle on his hands to win the player’s signature, with Juventus and Manchester United also considering a move for him.

[Dubciteh]

would be far from top of my list to be honest, replacing pat is least of our worries and thats about all id want him for. I want young hungry players with pace 1st and foremost,players who are eager to win stuff at all costs, this guy has won everything and would only be with us for $$$. I thought the days of us signing has beens was over, this is a city mid 00's signing.

[ant london]

I thought the days of us signing has beens was over, this is a city mid 00's signing.

depends why we're signing them though don't you think?

I mean, signing Fowler, MacManaman and the like as our "big hope" is one thing but signing someone like Pirlo as an old, experienced head who has been there and done it and someone who could come into a game and spread calm throughout the side as well as still offering clever invention...well, that's an entirely different matter.

[dazby]

Brilliant for Europe but I seriously doubt he'd adjust to the Prem quickly. It's a cautious yes from me.

[avoidconfusion]

Probably better than Vieira and Barry and more versatile... still too old though imho.

[bluej]

If he's brought in primarily as a back up to Silva then we could do worse.