CM: Milan pushing hard for Openda – Lens set asking price as player approves move

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan are pushing hard for Lois Openda but his asking price is on the rise which makes the pursuit complicated, a report claims.

Openda has scored 19 goals in 36 games for RC Lens this season and has fired them to what could be a second-placed finish in Ligue 1. Calciomercato.com report that the striker is strongly admired by Ricky Massara, who has been following him for three years.

Milan need a centre-forward ahead of next season and Openda is one of the main candidates on the list. There have been talks with the entourage of the 22-year-old, while the Rossoneri also learned that Lens are open to discussing a possible transfer.

However, their asking price starts at €40m, though the feeling on the part of Milan is that it can be negotiated to reach an agreement on a much lower basis than the request. In the meantime the player has been happy to hear of Milan’s interest and has already given the green light.

 

Tags AC Milan Lois Openda

16 Comments

  1. The Kings of negotiation.
    Everything will be negotiated even if they ask for €10m it will be negotiated.

    This club needs to be liberated from poverty.

      1. That comment of yours had me laúghing so much that i was about to cough up my lungs 😀 I get your point though and agree with the sentiment.

    1. If you ever wonder why a lot of people seem richer than you, its because you think throwing money around is a good thing

      just fyi

  2. Wrong player as a lone 9, on which the system is based, and far too expensive. Giroud is barely a starting quality player and will be 38 next season. It would be a massive error not to lock down our main man for the next 5 to 7 years (I.e. Scamacca with all the financial advantages of the current situation).

    Openda makes sense as an alternative to Scamacca in the squad. But that’s a lot of money for Milan to pay for someone who wouldn’t start.

    As I posted last time Openda’s name came up, look at the profile of the lone strikers who have scored heavily in the Serie A: Victor O, Abraham, Vlahovic, Zapata, Immobile, Belotti, Ronaldio, Beto, Zlatan, Giroud, Nzola, Lukaku, Scamacca, Dzeko and even Gabbiadini.

    Big (6’3+) and/or stocky and powerful at 6’1/6’2.

    Lautaro is the exception but he plays off giants (i.e. Dzeko or Lukaku) as part of a pair of strikers which is rare these days.

    We need more pace on the right flank. It’s much more important than out and out speed at 9 (though Scamacca would be as quick as a young Immobile, i.e. quick without being Leao express).

    1. For some reason I think we will end up loaning someone and having faith the promising ligue 2 forward we are about to sign will explode while on loan himself. And hopefully he does or we will end up with and army of young strikers
      Who get no chances

    2. @Bruno. Rubbish. Scammacca would costly mistake and if Milan get him it should only be on a loan with an option to buy.

      Openda and Bolagun are the best option for Milan. They are young very mobile and athletic and they both can play as a striker or winger. They are also good at creating chances on their own. Score double digit 20+ goals and provide assists.

      Scammacca doesn’t have these characteristics and he can be easily marked out the game if he is not getting good service similar to Giroud. Also, Scammacca has never scored a lot of goals per season and Milan need a striker who can score 20* double digit goals and provide assist. So he is extremely limited to the service he gets from the midfield and wingers.

      1. And yet the list of strikers l posted is the list of striker who score in Italy.

        Go and have a look at how effective Brahim’s pace and dribbling were against Inter in the semi finals a few weeks ago.

        What do you think Scamacca would score in France in a season?

        1. Bruno, I think you’re spot on. We need a striker that can hold his own and control the space physically. This is why CDK is failing, as he doesn’t know how to go shoulder to shoulder. I like Scamacca, but I’m not 100% convinced. I’m a bit more convinced than other people though. Let’s say 80%. How do you feel about Beto at Udinese? Not a huge goalscoring rate (but it is his second consecutive season with double digits), but perhaps in a better squad…

          1. I like Beto but I don’t see why the better squad wouldn’t apply to Scamacca too.

            As an attacking 9, I see Beto as a quicker but less technical Giroud. He can run away from defenders on the counter but not so much at them because his dribbling is nothing special.

            He is actually part of a pretty good attacking squad which, with Delofeu, is probably the equal of Milan’s. I think he’s ultimately a bit one dimensional.

            As for his hold up play, defensive work, and venturing deep to win the ball, I’ve not seen it as a strength at all. I’d say it is well below Scamacca and Giroud.

            I think this idea that Scamacca can’t hold the ball up and can be closed down is a throwback to a time, most recently 3 seasons ago, when Scamacca did struggle with the physical side of the game.

            I’m only getting back into soccer these last few years. My main sport has been Australian football. A reality of Australian football is that tall players take a long time to develop. At 195-196cm, Scamacca is massive as a soccer player and in the range as a tall which in Australian football might not be a consistent starting player until he’s a 23/24.

            I’ve almost never seen a reference to height delaying development of soccer players.

            A young 196cm Scamacca is almost necessarily going to struggle with physical contact. The last things that comes for a lean player of that height is physical strength and he’s almost always playing against at least one >188cm more mature CB.

            3 to 4 seasons ago Scamacca was a 20 yo 196cm striker. It should not have been a surprise to anyone that player struggled with the physical side of the game. It’s not a problem anymore.

  3. At this point, Maldini has proven that he is Hit&Miss on the market, with last summer being a lot more miss than hit. I would trust Moncada with his scouting and go for the players he suggests…

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