AC Milan are set to battle Juventus for the signing of Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee but they could be up against his former coach Thiago Motta.
As reported by Calciomercato.com, Juventus and Milan are the two Italian sides most likely to sign Zirkzee from Bologna this summer.
There are various factors in favour of each team. The overwhelming benefit for Milan is that they can offer Zirkzee a clear starting place in the team given Olivier Giroud’s departure.
For Juventus, they are almost certainly going to be led by Motta, who has a close relationship with Zirkzee as they both excelled at Bologna this season.
With a new coach in charge and Cristiano Giuntoli expected to wield more power in the transfer market, Juventus could be a very attractive proposition for many players this summer, especially given they still managed to secure Champions League football.
There are changes at Milan too, though, with Paulo Fonseca expected to come in as coach and plenty of scope to make some interesting signings to close the gap to Inter.
Milan are able to spend money straight away, whereas Juventus may need to sell before they can afford a player like Zirkzee who won’t be cheap.
100 he will go to juve because of Motta
Then i think they will have to sell vlahovic and quite frankly i would prefer owning the serb so it would seem like a hugh downgrade to me.
Yea they need to sell Vlahovic first.
But what is the point then ? cutting down on their salaries and earning a bit of dough would be my guess then. I’m rather envious of juventus owning that fella.
We lost this race the minute we lost the race for Motta. I read somewhere else that Roma is looking to offload Tammy Abraham. I think he would make a good option if we can’t afford/get Zirkzee or Sesko. Abraham knows the league and has shown goal scoring ability. To me he is like an Osimhen-lite, and he will be at least as good as Giroud in terms of goal scoring rate, which would suit us well.
He is a good striker very strong physically but he is most of the time injured
What have you been watching? Abraham is garbage, he folds under pressure. He had a good season when expectations were low, once he made a name for himself, he was under more scrutiny and folded.
By the same logic, we should go all in for Jonathan David. Why is he not be considered as heavily? he’s young and a very good striker and played for Fonseca. So there is a preexisting relationship.
Don’t discount the fact that they still have Vlahovic. It wouldn’t make sense to go all in for JZ if there is no concrete offer for Vlahovic. This buys Milan time to decisively go in for JZ. But yes we all know what they are like. Will wait for the last week of the mercato to show their hand.
Last summer they buying players from the start of Mercato… I think this summer it will be same. First there will be Fonseca and after him we start with players .. there are also many great free players, i hope they bring best possible options
I don’t get this obsession with Motta….
He’s had one good season with Bologna and fans see him as the next managerial Messiah.
Different club, different pressures….!
Overachiever with under performing teams? Great player in his own right.
It’s not like he hasn’t had high levels of pressure and expectations in his past. Saving Spezia from relegation as well as expectations as a player.
Sound defensively.
What’s not to like about a young talented coach?!
I see where you’re coming from. I like the Motta idea but is there is other options available…. I say this on the basis of not wanting to face disappointment and also a relegation scrap is different to being at the top end of the table especially when steering a big club….
Six months back everyone was calling for De Zerbi. I must confess that he is still my preferred choice but I will assume he’s still heading to Chelsea….?…!
Do you not understand how coaches progress? It’s 2 seasons now, first with Spezia and now Bologna. What he achieved with both is remarkable. He’s been a full-time coach for 3 seasons.
We all know we will end up with Mr X….