Calcio Mercato: Pirlo to stay, Aquilani to go and Huntelaar and Arnatovic to arrive

Andrea Pirlo has committed his future to AC Milan today, after a meeting between Silvio Berlusconi, Adriano Galliani and Leonardo. The powers at be have demanded that he stay, and Pirlo has obliged. This is great news for Milan, because in all honesty who could they find to replace him in just three weeks? Cristian Ledesma was mooted for this position, but despite being a quality player it would have taken some effort to fill Pirlo's boots.

However, it seems that finally a striker will arive in Milan to play with Pato and Ronaldinho, and it will be officially confirmed tomorrow. His name? Klass Jan Huntelaar by all reports. The Dutch forward will follow a great tradition at the San Siro. Can he follow in the footsteps of Rijkard, Gullit and of course the great Van Basten? Only time will tell, but all this man does is score goals. Even at Madrid, where he was largely neglected due to the form of Higuian, he netted eight goals. At Ajax, it was a remarkable 76 goals in 92 games. This, provided it goes through , is a master stroke. Huntelaar is a classic centre forward capable of emulating Pippo Inzaghi in the long run, and working alongside the brilliance of Pato, a player who is on the way to greatness. Still, this cannot be the end for Milan. The require a quality wing back, and one wonders why Maxwell or Marco Motta for that matter were not considered long ago. Still, there is time. Not for a revolution, but for certainly for Milan to add the quality they need to win something next season.

Aquilani off to Pool
With Xabi Alonso having been sold to Real Madrid, Liverpool have moved to secure Roma player Alberto Aquilani for a reported £20 million. While this may be considered a loss in some quarters, it is not on this site. In Aquilani we have a great talent, but one that cannot seem to go a season uninjured . With De Rossi and Pizzaro last year running the show for Roma, and the emergence of Matteo Brighi at last fulfilling his potential maybe now was the time for Roma to raise some capital to invest in defensive depth and a forward. Just today they have been linked to the Real Madrid players in Van Der Vart and forward Negredo, players who would add quality to any side.

Arnautovic set to join
With Huntelaar set to join Milan tomorrow Inter do not want to be left in the shade. Austrian revelation Marko Arnautovic is set to complete his move from FC Twente to Inter on Thursday. Dubbed the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Aranutovic demonstrated the kind of skill and ball control that the great swede did before his arrival at the San Siro. He will be one to watch next season.