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| Friday 27 June, 2008 |
| Blog: Silly money |
Emmanuel Adebayor reportedly has an 80 per cent chance of joining Milan, but Richard Godden reckons that the Rossoneri are better off taking their business elsewhere
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"What are the chances of Emmanuel Adebayor coming to Milan? I’d say today we are between 70 and 80 per cent." Those are the words of agent Vincenzo Morabito, who claims to be acting on behalf of the Arsenal striker. Considering that a fee of £30m has been mooted for the Togolese ace, fans of the Rossoneri should be praying that the other 20 to 30 per cent prevails.
Don’t get me wrong, Adebayor is a fine striker who should have a very bright future in the football world. He is big, strong, quick and has two decent feet. But a clinical finisher he is not. In an Arsenal team which is probably more creative than any other side on the continent, a tally of 23 League goals seems decent enough. But when you consider that he scored six of them against Derby County – nine in total against the three relegated Premier League clubs last term – it becomes less impressive.
Aside from the fact that there are probably better strikers out there than Adebayor who Milan could sign for less than £30m, it is also money which could be better spent elsewhere – namely on a goalkeeper who can catch more than a cold. Christian Abbiati is not the solution to the problem which has plagued the Rossoneri in recent times and he should be back-up to someone such as Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc. The Pole might not be a superstar, but he has shown on enough occasions that he is a top-class custodian.
Let’s say that it takes £10m to prise Boruc from Celtic Park. That leaves the Rossoneri at least £20m to spend on a striker to join Alexandre Pato, Marco Borriello and Pippo Inzaghi. Adebayor would be correctly priced for that sort of money – in the current football climate, of course – but there are plenty of other possibilities. Another couple of Premier League stars, both of whom are arguably better equipped to life in Serie A, are also allegedly available for a similar expenditure. I think you’d struggle to find too many fans who’d pick Adebayor over Dimitar Berbatov and Didier Drogba at £10m cheaper.
And if Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani is hoping to get the former Monaco man at a more realistic price, then he certainly hasn’t gone the right way about it. By declaring that it’s Ade or no one, he’s basically told Arsenal that they can demand whatever they want for a player they apparently have no desire of selling. If the Rossoneri really want to compete for next season’s Scudetto then the money men had better smarten up fast…
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I totally agree with you! One of Milan’s biggest problems last season was consistency between the goal posts. Most football fans love to see a big name striker sign for their club but I think the transfer budget needs to be spent wisely not on just one big striker but on a ‘keeper and a youthful defender! Boruc is a cracking option and Celtic fans have known for a long while now that it is only time before he moves on to bigger and better things. He may not be the world’s best but Milan would certainly give him the opportunity to prove his worth on a regular basis!
As for a striker, this was always going to be the trickiest one to pick. Milan need to make sure that they hit the nail on the head with this one… Previous signings such as Oliviera just weren’t what we were looking for. £30m is a big price tag and along with the price tag comes big expectations. I would spend less as you could easily get a good, competent striker for £20m. Personally I’d take Drogba over Berbatov!
Riccardo Giovanacci
As an avid Milan fan, I would love to see them divert their transfer attentions away from a highly overrated Arsenal CF and to a highly underrated RCD Mallorca CF - Daniel Güiza.
Gino
I must agree with this. You are completely right. Even Arsenal fans are excited about the sale of Adebayor because they are absolutely ripping off Galliani & Co. Ade was called upon to be the replacement of Henry but he is a million miles away from that sort of a player. It seems as though we are still looking for a replacement for Sheva but Ade is not the one. We should be looking at Drogba who is stronger, quicker and far more accurate than Ade.
But perhaps I am wrong. Maybe Ancelotti can unlock Ade’s true potential and lead the Togolese to score 30+ goals next season. It may sound a bit over-hopeful but maybe Galliani & Co see something in Ade’s abilities that none of us can. We can criticise Galliani all we want but in the end of the day this is his job and he didn’t get it by making all the wrong moves.
Farhad, Luton
Wise words indeed Sir concerning Adebayor. £30m for a guy who has won nothing, would appear to be a trifle rash purchase to say the least. The only people laughing here would be Arsenal’s finance chief, as Wenger hops on a plane down over to France & picks up another bargain for a fraction of the funds being received to play Milan in the Champions League & undoubtedly run them off the park again.
Drogba has at least won domestic competitions, is a proven handful for the best in the world on his day & Berbatov plays football on a different planet to us other mere mortals when his head is in the right place. Were I a Milan fan, I would be pulling my hair out at this – so as I am a Juve follower I am absolutely delighted the whole Milan budget is going on an over priced and over rated lightweight.
Jem Yeomans
Galliani and Co will be making a huge mistake signing AdebaYUK, He is a one season wonder no doubt. He is not supposed to be more than £9m as far as I’m concerned. Why not get Guiza for cheap? Fabiano? Berbatov? They should get it right in the market. Statements such as Adebayor or no one doesn’t make sense as Wenger will want to profit from a player he bought less than £10m.
Oluwafemi Jeffrey
What the hell has gone wrong with Milan and their cheque book?!?! £30m for Adebayor – that must make me worth a million. Although the man did have a good at least half season and may well become a great striker, there are still far too many question marks to make him worth even half this crazy figure. He scored some great goals last year, but when Arsenal played the top sides, he all too often went missing or failed to deliver. For heaven's sake signor Galliani, surely the Milan name still has enough clout to attract something better than this! And if you must sign someone of Adebayor's stature, please ring Arsene Wenger and his scouts first and he may be able to save you £25m or so. Wenger is a football genius and makes less than great players look the part in his team. There are much better players than this one to leave Arsenal and look very average, very quickly. Be warned Adriano!
Simon Cook
As a Milan fan I believe it is ridiculous that they are willing to pay £30m for an over-rated player who can't score on the big stage. I completely agree with this and can't understand why Galliani would want to buy him unless he can see something in him that will suit the squad. However I also wouldn't want Milan to pay even £20m for a 30-year-old who has already peaked and I believe Berbatov isn't the 30-goal a season striker we need. I believe if we should go for possibly Lukas Podolski or David Villa who are both young and are cheaper options. Or we could even possibly gamble on cheaper options such as Guiza or maybe even Saviola who may not have been playing for Madrid and Barcelona respectively in the past two seasons but he is undoubtedly a quality player who has an eye for goal. And as to Ronaldinho? No. I believe as well Boruc would be a good signing. We could also use some back-up in the midfield area and have been linked with Schwiensteiger who I believe would be a quality signing or Miguel Veloso who is a talent for the future. I'd advise to look at the Croatian Rakitic who has impressed me at Euro ‘08. I believe we may also, not urgently, need a new young defender but that is about it. I am hoping our line-up next year could shape up like this. Boruc; Zambrotta, Nesta, Kaladze/new defender, Maldini; Flamini/Veloso, Pirlo/Schweinsteiger, Gattuso, Kaka; Pato/Inzaghi/Borriello Villa/Saviola/Guiza/Podolski.
Chris, Milan
I think Adebayor would be a great signing. I’d like to see a young strike force with Pato that could learn from SuperPippo’s fantastic attitude and professionalism and grow into a double act to be remembered. Drogba apart from being a cheat is much older than Adebayor who Paolo Maldini (no less) commented on his admiration for him... I’d say that’s the ultimate testimonial. When we signed Nesta for a huge fee, people then questioned that money for a defender... why not ...without him we would not have won in Europe... he was one of the best signings ever. Spread even an inflated £32m over eight years top playing level for Adebayor and compare it to £20m over three for Drogba. That is the measure I’d tend to use for value. I’d remind people that when Alex Ferguson signed Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney for massive fees, people were shocked, but look at the return on the investment. However lets not forget we have no chance of winning anything without a goalkeeper and central defenders. That must be the priority. It’s suicide to depend on Nesta and Maldini playing in every match even though they could be rested in UEFA Cup matches. If money is a problem then try for Cudicini who is Milan through and through he would be 100% better than Kalac and infinitely better than Dida. Then maybe we could tempt Sergio Ramos. Ok, I’m dreaming now but it’s a dream I like!
Gary Parker
Adebayor had a great 2007-08, congrats. But his long term average is not very impressive. Even with 24 goals this past season, he only averages 11 goals per year. I bet Gilardino scores 11 for Fiorentina next season. I hope Milan buy value stars like Andriy Shevchenko, David Trezeguet, Nihat Kahveci, Antonio Di Natale or Mario Gomez. If Milan wants a one-year-wonder they already have Marco Borriello and they could sign Daniel Guiza (27 goals) and Roque Santa Cruz (19 goals) combined for less than 30m Euros. Roque's goals came while playing for a much inferior club in the same Premiership as Adebayor.
Jose Vasque
I agree with Richard, I think Adebayor had one good season and season before wasn't that good
Nurbek Khodjayev
How is £30m silly money for a 24-year-old striker who has shown consistent improvement in his three years at Arsenal? He certainly represents better value than Ronaldinho, who will be available on a free transfer at the end of next season, the injury prone Eto'o and 30-year-old diver Didier Drogba. All three are terrible professionals. Someone mentioned Guiza. How is he NOT a one season wonder? With Adebayor Milan's attack will be set for the next five or six years.
Mehdi
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