A report from Sky Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio states that D.C. United is meeting with AC Milan midfielder Antonio Nocerino tomorrow to persuade him to come to MLS. Whether an offer has already been made and the team is coming to close the deal, or whether these are simply preliminary talks, remains unclear.
Word of Nocerino coming to MLS has been floating around for several weeks now. Knowing the Italian press, the DC link could simply be down to the fact that United's majority owner Erick Thohir holds a similar position with Inter Milan. Only a couple of weeks ago, the Italian press was linking him to a move to Orlando City. Just two days ago, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said he was expecting an offer from someone in MLS any time now.
If the offer goes through, the 31-year old central midfielder would likely have to be released from his contract with Milan, which expires in June. The idea for the Italian giant would be to be free of paying a player that does not seem to be anywhere near getting minutes (a similar situation to the likely release of Nigel De Jong, linked with the LA Galaxy for weeks).
Nocerino appeared in 21 games while on loan at Parma last season, but he hasn't appeared for Milan since late August. In terms of his position - Nocerino has mostly played as a high-energy central midfielder, with occasional use as a deeper-lying midfielder and even as an attacking midfielder - seems to fit United's needs to a tee. Nocerino has 15 caps for Italy and was in the Azzurri squad that lost to Spain in the final of Euro 2012.