Now with Zlatan confirmed, we should look something like this:
INS: Eto'o, Hleb, Cassano, one of Hamsik/Sneijder/VdV
OUT: Vieira, Mancini, Burdisso, Rivas, Suazo
Squad:
GK: Cesar, Toldo, Belec
DEF: Maicon, Santon, Chivu, Lucio, Cordoba, Materazzi, Samuel
MID: JZ, Cambiasso, Stankovic, Motta, Muntari, Quaresma, Hleb
ATT: Eto'o, Milito, Balotelli, *Cassano*, Destro.
Thats a squad of 22, I think Mourinho said he wanted 24-25. If you include Obi and Krhin we still have space for another AMC.
Leaves us with the following options:
GK: Cesar, Toldo, Belec
RB: Maicon, Santon, JZ
LB: Chivu, Santon, JZ
CB: Lucio, Samuel, Cordoba, Materazzi, Chivu
DMC: Cambiasso, JZ, Muntari, Motta
MC(R): JZ, Stankovic
MC(L):Motta, Muntari
AMC: Cassano, Hleb, Quaresma
ST: Eto'o, Balotelli
ST: Milito, Cassano
First team:
------------Cesar
--Maicon--Samuel--Lucio--Chivu
----J.Z.---Cambiasso--Motta
----------Cassano/Hleb--------
--------Milito-------Eto'o
To me, thats a pretty strong line up. The defence is excellent and we have good depth for each position. The CBs are a bit old, but then again experience is one of the most important things in that role, and with players such as Lucio and Cordoba we have pace covered. Cannot see Burdisso and Rivas getting a look in at all, they need to go.
Attack is still strong. With Milito and Eto'o we have two proven goalscorers who offer a threat in the air and on the ground. Milito will assume the target man role left by Zlatan and his ability to hold up the ball will come in handy. I've not seen much of him, but if he's good at laying off passes and bringing people in to the game, I can see the pace of Eto'o/Balotelli coming in handy. In these two, we have two players who are decent in the air but good with the ball at their feet. Both are strong and quick with a decent eye for goal. Balotelli will benefit greatly from playing with Eto'o. The only problem with these two is that neither is very skillful/creative and as such we may still have problems getting through packed defences. This is a huge hole left by Ibra which simply must be filled. Cassano could do it, but I don't expect that Milito or Eto'o have been signed to sit on the bench so I think Cassano will sit in behind the two.
Midfield, at the moment, is still lacking. JZ and Cambiasso are excellent at sitting infront of the back four and protecting the defence, and I think both Muntari and Motta are also capable of that role. If we signed Cassano, I believe he could assume the playmaker role quite well. Sit him behind the two strikers and let him roam around bringing people into the game. He's quick, has the ability to beat a man, can score from distance and can lay off killer passes. Hleb would be his understudy, and I wouldn't mind Quaresma being trained in this position also. In Hleb and Quaresma we have two good wingers (although the latter is yet to show it) who could allow the team to switch formations to a 433 or 451 if need be. However, we are still missing one player. We still lack a world class, box to box midfielder, someone in the Gerrard mould. In the current line up, all the creativity goes through the AMC (whoever that ends up being), we could use another player who is equally adept at going forward as he is defending. Deki is the closest thing we currently have, but I'm not convinced he's good enough for a team with CL aspirations. The same applies to Muntari and Motta. For me, the best option for this role is Hamsik. I'm not sure what Napoli's demands are, but we should be trying all we can to bring him in. These players are a real rarity in world football, but the benefit they bring to the team is immense. After Hamsik, I'm not really sure. Players like Sneijder or Van der Vaart offer plenty going forward but I'm not sure what their like playing as pure midfielders and offering something defensively. Then again, their of international calibre and with Cambiasso and JZ's defensive ability we could probably make do with those two. Another reason I feel that we could use another midfielder is that the current squad still lacks pace. Muntari is relatively quick, but as we saw against Man U he is still a bit out of his depth against the top teams. Motta is a bit of an unknown in this sense. Again, I didn't see much of Genoa last season, but I've heard that he (if he stays fit) can play the box to box role brilliantly- offer plenty in both offense and defence. Another option for this role would be Deco. I know he's old and slow, but his time at Barca showed he has a decent defensive game as well as offering plenty in a creative sense. If the club is looking for cost effective options, I can see a move being made for him.