Aaron Ramsey to AC Milan sounds good, but will it come true?

It’s been suggested in the press that Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey could also come to AC Milan if Milan are successful in persuading Arsenal executive Ivan Gazidis to trade in North London for Milan.

Milan are indeed in need of reinforcements in the midfield, and a player with the quality of Ramsey would fit in very well at Milan. It’s also been reported that Ramsey is in the final year of his contract, but the two sides have yet to agree to a new deal. With that in mind, how likely is it that an executive, even one with the experience of Gazidis, could inspire a player to join him at a new club?

The problem with the sudden “interest” by Milan in Ramsey is that, yes, he would be a good fit for Milan, why would Ramsey suddenly follow an executive from a club that he’s at a contract impasse with to a new club? Gazidis is one of the people at Arsenal that controls the purse strings, so if there is a disagreement over the size of Ramsey’s paychecks, would the disagreement suddenly go away at Milan?

Another issue with the pay aspect of any deal for Ramsey is the budgets that the English teams are working with these days. TV money has flooded the Premier League, and very few clubs outside of Champions League contenders can compete with even mid-table English teams for transfer fees and wage payments.

Ramsey would like make more money playing for a team in England instead of at Milan, and while there might be a thousand reasons why playing for Milan would be better than playing for Burnley or Wolverhampton, the money wouldn’t necessarily be one of them. Of course, Milan could break the bank for Ramsey, but again, if Milan are looking to bring in some midfield reinforcements without paying large transfer fees, would the club necessarily be willing to take on the high wages that someone like Ramsey will command?

Last summer, Milan was linked with out of contract Jack Wilshere, and he ended up going to West Ham United, and Cesc Fabregas has also been linked with a move to Milan. And now it’s Ramsey’s turn to be linked to Milan. Is there a pattern developing? At 27, Ramsey’s not in the same boat as Fabregas, but it still seems convenient that Milan are rumored to be interested in a lot of Arsenal or former Arsenal midfielders.

Is this all agent talk or a legitimate interest from Milan? We’ll see. Just don’t go buying a Milan jersey with RAMSEY on the back anytime soon.