Antonio Cassano. With Kaka gone, Milan are going to need some creativity, pace and finish in the trequartista position. His last two seasons at Sampdoria have shown that he’s done a lot of growing up, and his talent is still there. The Italian core of the team seems to be dwindling as of late, so why not boost this by signing arguably Italy’s most talented forward?

Luis Fabiano or Emmanuel Adebayor. I realize that he may not be for sale at all, but I think that an attacking formation of Cassano behind Fabiano/Adebayor and Pato could be extremely successful. Cassano providing the imagination and creativity, Pato providing the pace and power, and Fabiano / Adebayor providing the 18-yard box prowess. That kind of offense in front of a midfield comprised of two hard working individuals (Flamini / Gatusso / Ambrosini) and the creative core of Pirlo, would certainly be dominant force in Europe!

PS – anyone wants heinze plus cash and a picture of angelina jolie posing naked ?

*Zhirkov/Pavlyuchenko: If these transfers were desperately wanted, Roman could make it happen without question. The problem is that these were buys recommended by Guus Hiddink, who wants to see his Russian nationals get more world-class play time. If Guus were still in the head coaching position, I would be more hopeful, as these players would recieve a ton of developmental help. But why get them if Guus won’t be there? Pavlyuchenko is 27, after all.

Arjen Robben/Antonio Valencia: Unfortunately, I do not share Erik’s optimism about Chelsea’s situation on the wing. Kalou is inconsistently brilliant, and Anelka isn’t a superb winger. If Kalou stays, then he can come off the bench for Drogba, and Niko should be thinking about retirement altogether. Robben always liked the club, and was sad to go. The guy is still 25, has a ton of speed and ball control, and is a scoring threat. Valencia is a great prospect, and an effort should be put in to get him away from united.

Aguero/Pato/Huntelaar: The bottom line is that someone needs to play next to Drogba. D-Drog is strictly a power-forward. Most of his goals come from muscling defenders off of a grounded pass, turning around, and slide-kicking the ball into the goal. THAT’S WHAT HE’S GOOD AT. To complement him, he needs to play next to someone in the Del Piero mold; a goal threat with CAM-esque ball control, who can score in his own right and cross it over to the Ivorian when the time comes. Villa wasn’t that kind of forward, so I’m not upset about him I’d prefer Aguero or Pato, but Huntelaar is an okay choice.