GOODBYE AQUILANI

By ESPNsoccernet staff


Liverpool have confirmed a deal is in place for Alberto Aquilani to join AC Milan on loan.






PA PhotosRafael Benitez brought Alberto Aquilani to Anfield in 2009


The deal will see Aquilani spend the season at the San Siro with an option to make the signing permanent. It has been reported that Milan will be obliged to sign the Italy midfielder if he makes 25 appearances.
Liverpool said on their website that the deal would be subject to a medical, but a Milan statement read: "After undergoing his medical this morning, Alberto Aquilani arrived at the training centre at 13.20."
Aquilani, 27, joined Liverpool from Roma in 2009 as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, but he struggled with injuries during his debut season and was then allowed to spend the 2010-11 campaign on loan at Juventus.
Reds boss Kenny Dalglish had earlier suggested that he would be happy to include Aquilani in his plans but, with a high number of midfielders at his disposal, the Italian has been allowed to depart.
Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli told the club's official website: "I want to pay tribute to the way Alberto has conducted himself during these discussions. Throughout the entire process, his only desire has been to play football and he has put this ahead of any other considerations and at personal cost to himself. We wish him well for the season ahead."

AQUILANI IS LEAVING?

Liverpool are set to finally sell midfielder Alberto Aquilani, with AC Milan seemingly his destination.

Rumours have been swirling for some time in Italy over the identity of a ‘Mr X’ whom AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri had identified as a replacement to Andrea Pirlo. Aquilani was pointed out in the Italian media as the likeliest player to be ‘Mr X’, ironic given that Pirlo’s arrival at Juventus scuppered Aquilani’s chances of a permanent move there after spending last season on loan at the Turin side.

Reports from Italy suggest that Liverpool are willing to let Aquilani go to Milan for as little as 6 million euro (£5 million) – a huge loss on the £17 million that the Reds paid Roma for him in 2009.

Aquilani told Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport yesterday that he was close to joining Milan while press reports in Italy suggest that the deal could either take the form of a season-long loan with the prospect of a permanent move next summer, or the payment of three tranches of 2 million euro to wrap up the deal. However, Aquilani’s proposed move to Fiorentina last month collapsed because the Italian side wanted a loan move first ahead of a permanent deal, something the player was not interested in.