Milan are reportedly still interested in signing Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella

Haven’t we heard this all before?

AC Milan have reportedly contacted Cagliari in order to come to terms with the club on the transfer of Italy midfielder Nicolo Barella.

Of course, if you listen to reports, Barella has already had agreements in place with Napoli, Chelsea, and Inter Milan. This latest rumor even states that Milan will have to compete with Inter for the signature of the 22 year-old midfielder.

Barella is a talented player who is going to garner a rather large transfer fee from whatever team lands him, and the constant rumors about big clubs in Italy and England all being in for his signature only adds fuel to the fire.

Will Barella sign with Milan? Perhaps, but at this point the rumors seem to indicate that an agent or even Cagliari are trying to drive up apparent interest in him to try and get a better deal out of whatever team finally does land him. Barella doesn’t have the attacking chops of a Lucas Paquetà or the defensive ability of Tiémoué Bakayoko, so he would be competing with Franck Kessie for the box-to-box role in Gennaro Gattuso’s 4-3-3 midfield.

Could Milan use him? Of course they could, as talented central midfielders don’t grow on trees. If he does come, expect that one of the other midfielders, such as an aging Lucas Biglia, would likely be on his way out of the club. However, the only way that Milan would be able to afford Barella is if Milan qualifies for the Champions League, so a lot will hinge on the final table position for Milan.