Roberto Mancini is ready to battle Carlo Ancelotti to land AC Milan’s midfield ace Andrea Pirlo.

The star is set to leave the San Siro on a free transfer, because Milan want him to accept a substantial pay-cut in exchange for a new deal as they try to trim their wage bill.

Chelsea’s former Milan boss Ancelotti remains keen on the Italy playmaker after failing to land him last year and will try again – if he’s still in charge this summer.

Manchester City struggled for creativity when Adam Johnson was injured recently and manager Mancini feels Pirlo could bring a different dimension to his developing side.

He is also attracted by his compatriot’s experience – Pirlo has won many top honours in the game, including the Champions League and World Cup.

Mancini feels he needs seen-it-all operators such as Pirlo in his squad as he builds a title-winning team at Eastlands, especially as Patrick Vieira is widely expected to quit this summer.

From CaughtOffside

In my opinion Pirlo would be a great addition to the squad. Getting a player with his quality and creativity on free transfer would be great. I don't care if he is 31, he has at least two good seasons left I would think.

From CaughtOffside

In my opinion Pirlo would be a great addition to the squad. Getting a player with his quality and creativity on free transfer would be great. I don't care if he is 31, he has at least two good seasons left I would think.

Pirlo has only played in Italy where he has much more time on the ball than he would have in England, so I have a feeling he'd be just another Veron if he came to England.

No.

No.

This

While we are already trying to bring more young blood in Squad...bringing in Pirlo won't be a correct idea.

Also Pirlo has spent his whole life playing in Italy , playing in English League would be like living on some newly discovered planet for him.

No doubt Pirlo is one of the best creative midfielders in the game who has played his best football under Ancelotti at Milan. Let's not forget the Italian game is much slower and he could experience difficulty in adjusting to our league especially at his age. For that reason I'm not in favour of signing him.

We need to build up a team for the future. The two players who come to mind are the 26 year old Wesley Sneijder and the 23 year old Marek Hamsik. Of the two, Sneijder would be my preference.

When we were linked with him at the same time as Carlo signed for us I was quite looking forward to seeing him at Chelsea, he really was an incredible player in Italy. But the time for us to sign him has surely past, and he just doesnt fit into the type of player we are seemingly after now. Cant see it happening.

When we were linked with him at the same time as Carlo signed for us I was quite looking forward to seeing him at Chelsea, he really was an incredible player in Italy. But the time for us to sign him has surely past, and he just doesnt fit into the type of player we are seemingly after now. Cant see it happening.

What he said. 2 seasons too late. He would just put Josh down the pecking order.

carlo won't be here...neither will pirlo...we're looking to the future not the past

carlo won't be here...neither will pirlo...we're looking to the future not the past

insider ?

I wouldn't be so hasty as to dismiss a player like Pirlo out of hand. We surely could have used someone like that this season with all the injuries to our central midfield, and who knows we may have still been in with a real shot at the title. With Benayoun replacing Joe and Pirlo taking Deco's place with a bit of luck at least one of them would stay fit and his creativity and passing range could have certainly helped solve our midfield problems during the crisis period(I know he was out injured himself, just talking hypothetically).

Just because we are looking to refresh the squad and bring some young talent doesn't mean we can't use experienced veterans who add a touch of class and leadership needed to support a new Chelsea team. Let's not forget that for all the hype vast majority of the youngsters we buy will never gt anywhere near our starting eleven.Getting someone like Andrea Pirlo on a free transfer isn't the worst deal out there, as long as its a short contract and the player isn't counting to be a starter.

I'm not necessarily encouraging us to go after Pirlo, all I'm saying is the player's age isn't the only thing you should look at while estimating his potential value to the squad. The fact that he comes on a free transfer, is a world class performer with tons of experience at the top level and adds a certain flair and creativity which our midfield is in serious lack of, certainly shouldn't be overlooked.

Edited March 25, 201115 yr by abramovich

Well, he's still a good player, has loads of experience, wont cost us anything. I'd take him as long as his wages isn't too high.

abramovich, I would agree with you if we didnt have a certain Frank Lampard already at the clb who does all those things you said for us, and more. If Lampard was to move on then I agree Pirlo would make a decent signing on a free.

agree with dkw, lampard is the man for that job in the future, plus he has a wealth of expierience in English football, pirlo may have a champions league and world cup medal, but the priority is getting our youngsters especially the foreign boys, to have the unstanding and passion to play for Chelsea football club. we don't want someone like pirlo telling them how good it was to play for Milan, we want lamps telling them how good life is at Chelsea and what they need to be a success here.

Great player, but not one that we need and with Josh and Piazon in the ranks now this would be a huge move in the wrong direction

I'd love to have him, if even only for a season, just to be able to say I've seen Pirlo in a Chelsea shirt. Probably not necessarily a practical move squad-wise, but if Ancelotti is trying to create the next great regista then surely it can't hurt to have their (Mikel or McEachran?) predecessor in the ranks.

abramovich, I would agree with you if we didnt have a certain Frank Lampard already at the clb who does all those things you said for us, and more. If Lampard was to move on then I agree Pirlo would make a decent signing on a free.

They are very different type of players, dkw. Pirlo is not a scoring threat like Frank but he is certainly more creative and much better passer of the ball.

Edited March 26, 201115 yr by abramovich

Despite his age, still a top player. He will prosper when we have Essien or Rameris do all the dirty work, will provide Alonso like ( or better) service to Torress or other strikers from deep. It depends on his wage demand and whether he is happy to be a squad player. Look back at this season, we could have used a Ballack or Deco, experience and creativity can not be replaced by youth and energy alone.