I really hope were in for a surprise this summer, but we have been promised champions every season since serie b and look how things turned out.
Another CL-less season could prompt our management to shuffle things up. Any1 who follows North American sports can cite examples of teams purging themselves of their roster and rebuilding after many years of disappointment. In those cases, no1 is untouchable. In football, since transfer fee's are involved, the possibilities are scarier, since instead of freeing salary cap space to rebuild, you need actual cash to sign the players to begin with, meaning your most valuable assets are up for sale at the right price.
If Madrid's interest in Chiellini is serious and they make a huge offer, I have no doubt our management will sell.
Even though he should be 1 of the pillars of the squad, and despite his status as a fan favourite, the fact is we don't have enough money to strengthen our weak spots and fund all the dream formations in this thread (especially without CL, a season that will finish with a big financial loss, and €49.5m in options likely to be exercised). If we really intend to sign 4 "champions", expect some sacrifices.
If David Luiz, who according to wiki had 83 league appearances with Benfica and 5 with Brasil, cost €25m, we will receive a big pay off for Chiellini. Madrid paid around €30m for Pepe from Porto, and his reputation at the time was not as Chiellini's is now.
Since we don't need to sell to survive like the Portuguese clubs, and since serie a, despite its downturn, is tougher than the Portuguese league, it stands to reason that Chiellini, who has more appearances for both club and country, should cost at least €40m.
Apply the above to Buffon as well, who for me, would be an even tougher pill to swallow.
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