Last time we touched base with Keisuke Honda, the Japanese international was said to be on the verge of signing a pre-contract deal with AC Milan. The story wasnโt without a few caveats, however. Milan were still hopeful of convincing CSKA Moscow to let the 27-year-old go before his contract expired in December. And strangely, his arrival was supposed to be contingent on Robinho finding another home, with the Brazilianโs fallback club (Santos) reportedly ready to give him a third go.
Fast forward three weeks and weโre on the verge of some clarity. Well, weโre on the verge of clarity if you put as much stock in todayโs reports as you did in the originals, as the updated news has Milan and CSKA closing in on a deal that would allow the attacker to move before the start of Milanโsย Serie A season. That move would also carry the snazzy virtue of allowing the Rossoneri to register him for UEFA Champions League, something that may not have happened if Honda played out the fall with the defending Russian champions.
From Milanย chief executive Ernesto Bronzetti, who dropped in a bit of a brow-wrinkler at the end:
โThe gap between our offer and [CSKAโs] asking price is low,โ he told Sky Sport Italia.
โTonight after their League game he will speak with the President and tell them that he wants to leave.
โThey would like to keep him for the Champions, but the guy just wants to join Milan.
โHe even turned down a move to Barcelona.โ
All that other stuff beyond the โgap โฆ is lowโ is decoration. You either agree to a price or your donโt, one that would justify CSKA letting him go before their own Champions League campaign starts. Though it is nice that Bronzetti threw in that completely relevant Barรงa bit! (I image a microphone dropping in Bronzettiโs mind when he letโs that little bit slip.)
Incidentally, the Robinho move to Santos never happened. In fact, he signed another deal with Milan last week. How does a player go from being cast off to signing a deal through the summer of 2016? Maybe we swapped some of the annual salary he was reaping from his Manchester City deal for a few more years of security at a lower wage? At least, thatโs one scenario that would keep him in the picture while the Honda talks are still moving forward.
As for the Honda deal, weโve discussed about the virtues before. Honda feeding Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaawary, andย MโBaye Niang? It might not closer the gap in the standings between them and Juventus, but I know which team Iโd rather watch.
