Pirlo is way better than Aquilani, but at his age, we need a better option. He is not in his prime anymore (infact he is in decline actually) and that's the bottom line.
according to CdS it's a done deal and i see this is a good thing. get rid of that ballerina aquilani and gain some needed class and leadership. we would not get any better player for that position anyways considering we are missing out on champions league ....
The best short term solution you'd find anywhere in Europe IMO. He's better than Aqua for sure, and more importantly might help groom the guy we get as his understudy.