Last year Kakà, this year Fernando Torres. The identikit of Milan’s main summer acquisition is now pretty clear: old, on the downside of his career, and possibly rich, but with still enough space in his bank account for one last, generous contract.

Yes, because if rumors are true, Adriano Galliani and Torres’s agent have reached an agreement for a three year, €4 M per year deal. A drastic cut compared to the €7 M he’s making now at Chelsea, but not that bad for a player who has had a drastic dip in performance in the last four years.

 

 

As you can see from the two graphs, both his goal rate and his market value have been dropping ever since he left Liverpool to join Chelsea.

In the past five seasons, he's hit the back of the net 77 times in 230 games, that is at a 0,33 goals per game rate (1 goal every 3 games). Lower than his 0,39 career average, and much lower than his best season with Liverpool’s jersey (0,72 gpg in 2007-08). No wonder his market value went from around €50 M to the current €12 M (source: transfermarkt).

The point, however, is not just if he scores (which is, by the way, pretty important for a striker), but whether Milan needs this kind of player at this price (€24 M investment in three years for the club). The answer is to be found in Milanello. His name and surname are Giampaolo Pazzini, probably the most unappreciated and forgotten striker in Italy. He’s the same age as Torres, and in the last 5 years he scored 71 goals (six less than the Spanish), in only 182 games.  His average is therefore 0,39 gpg, better than el Niño ‘s 0,33.

This doesn’t mean Pazzini has been a better striker. It just means that right now the two are not that different: similar scoring rate, similar position, similar (poor) leadership skills. Sure, the Spaniard has reached peaks that Pazzini will never imagine, but not anymore. So what’s the point of buying something so expensive if you already have it? Wouldn't it have been better to invest the money elsewhere?

Given Milan’s latest moves, a rossonero might wonder what the club’s policies are.

Sure, Torres is a big name, he will sell some jerseys, and he’s not even that old (just turned 30) but he’s not what Milan needs. Not if they finally want to start a true rebuilding process, like their cousins did on the other side of the canal. As an external viewer I’m confused because when they bought Balotelli I thought they would start rebuilding a young team around him. Impression confirmed when they said goodbye to Ambrosini, the only player left from the great Milan. Then came Kakà II, which didn’t make much sense, especially at that price. In fact just a year later they parted ways with him again. Then all of a sudden they stop believing in Mario, they take as much money as possible, and start believing again in El Shaarawy and Niang, only to spend all the money they made thanks to Mario on Torres.

Every summer it’s the same story, with Galliani preparing some last minute surprise and everybody underlining his relational and negotiating skills. To me, this is simply a lack of long-term planning: something unacceptable for a club like Milan.