AC Milan are still looking for the right man to come in and be the centre-forward for years to come, and they have reopened talks over a deal for Serhou Guirassy as per a report.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes that Olivier Giroud is definitely heading to Los Angeles FC in the summer meaning Milan will have to sign a starting No.9.
It is a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the management because they cannot get it wrong, and that is why they are evaluating various avenues in the hopes of finding the right deal.
New contacts
Serhou Guirassy was a target for Milan in December, when Stefano Pioli was looking for help in the winter transfer window.
However, the club decided not to spend – also due to the change in the rules on the application of the Growth Decree – and Guirassy remained at Stuttgart.
Milan have resumed talks and are thinking of him as a concrete option for the summer. Meanwhile, Guirassy’s form remains excellent as he continued to score goals.
Between March and April he accelerated, returning to the impressive averages of the autumn: he scored in six games in a row and his goal tally rose to 25 in the Bundesliga plus 2 in the DFB Pokal.
The key
The other number that matters is 17.5, i.e. the amount of millions in his release clause which is attracting a lot of different clubs around Europe.
Milan’s primary summer target, Joshua Zirkzee (of Bologna) costs at least €50-60m. Benjamin Sesko (Leipzig) and Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord), who have long been on the wish list, would need similar figures.
There is a lot of different in the price tag between the Guinea international and the others, because saving €30-40m on the striker would mean having a lot of budget left over.
Among the players appreciated by Milan, the only one negotiable for figures similar to those of Guirassy is Jonathan David of Lille, who does not have a clause but a contract expiring in 2025.
The preference
And what does Guirassy want to do? Well, he has always made it clear that he prefers the Premier League, where football has more appeal and the bank transfers at the end of the month do as well.
In England, however, there is a difference between the level of the clubs that might come in. If one of the top six or seven came in there would be no issue and Guirassy would accept.
However, Milan are competing with all the other clubs below that because they can offer the charm of the history of the club, of San Siro and a place in the Champions League.
At 28, after a career spent at Amiens, Rennes and Stuttgart, it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for Guirassy. Milan knows that there is a risk factor – the danger is that Guirassy is a one-season wonder – but the management feel the duty to evaluate.
Get him allocated more budget to DM and CB. For 17.5m it’s a bargain, he will finish with 30 goals. He is fast, physical, intense.
Hard to focus on a striker at this point since we don’t even know what coach will come in or what system will be used…
If he becomes a viable option, then they might as well go for a 2 strikers and get rid of Jovic. Retegui would be good 2nd striker. Problem is if they wait too long these guys are going to get snapped up and then we will have to deal with the crumbs off the table.
Why? Jovic’s numbers are great for a sub. He started scoring and how did Pioli reward him? Benched him! Same with Okafor – most goals by a sub. Does he play more? No.
Two striker system would benefit from Okafor and Jovic. They are both two-striker players.
For that price outside of wage, you can’t get any better deal than that, except you buy underrated striker for low price and gambling he will be scoring 20 goals and more 😀
Jovic is great as an impact player. He is dismal when he needs to lead from the start. And if your 1st choice striker get injured you are stuffed. We need solutions that can work during rotations, injuries, etc..
This one is great player but he is injury prone