Milan duo set to swap Cassano and Pazzini
Reuters - Tuesday 21 August 2012, 20:00
AC Milan forward Antonio Cassano is set to
join Inter, with Giampaolo Pazzini moving in the opposite
direction, the two clubs said on Tuesday.
The clubs said they had been involved in negotiations over
the players, who left Sampdoria during the 2010/11 season,
although a deal had yet to be finalised.
"It's an interesting operation - who doesn't want a player
like Cassano?" Inter president Massimo Moratti was quoted as
saying on the club's website. "We think he can be
useful and the coach thinks the same."
AC Milan broadcast an interview on their television channel
with midfielder Riccardo Montolivo, welcoming Pazzini to the
club.
"It will be wonderful if he arrives," said Montolivo, a
former team mate of Pazzini's who was signed from Fiorentina
earlier in the close season.
"Pazzini has done well in all the teams he played for. He is
a fox in the penalty area, he's strong in the air and helps his
sides to play well."
Media reports say Milan will pay an additional 7.5 million
euros to their city rivals for Pazzini, 28, who
scored only five goals in Serie A last season for Inter.
Cassano's departure from Milan comes as a surprise, given
that he has revived his career in his 18 months at the club and
become firmly established in the Italy line-up.
Having been overlooked for the 2010 World Cup, the
30-year-old formed Italy's strike partnership with Mario
Balotelli at Euro 2012, despite missing six months of the season
after undergoing minor heart surgery.
Cassano has had a colourful career marked by tantrums and
personality clashes, but his early immaturities looked to have
been ironed out when he joined Sampdoria from Real in 2007.
However, a verbal spat with the Sampdoria president Riccardo
Garrone led to him being suspended in 2010 and he joined Milan
where he became a key factor in their Serie A triumph last year.