AC Milan’s first reinforcement of the January transfer market is a striker and he will arrive from Serbia. His name? Matija Popovic, of Partizan Belgrade.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Milan management have recently found an agreement over personal terms with Popovic that will facilitate his arrival on a free transfer in the winter, thanks to the fact his current contract is expiring on December 31st.
Popovic, therefore, will soon be a Milan player. Now it’s a question of details, but a deal has been struck and the forward will arrive in Italy after turning 18 – i.e. from 8 January onwards – to complete the usual medical examination process and sign the contract.
The agreement reached with the player will last until June 2028 meaning he will sign for four and a half years. The Rossoneri see excellent potential in him and will immediately bring him to train with the first team.
Popovic combines dribbling, speed and a slender physique (195cm tall) as well as creativity and the ability to play virtually anywhere across the forward line. At the U17 Euros in May, his Serbia beat Italy 2-1 and drew 1-1 against Lamine Yamal’s Spain. All three assists were registered by Popovic.
It is no coincidence that the Partizan talent was wanted by Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona (as well as other Italian and international clubs). The Blaugrana had also tried a blitz by sending emissaries to Belgrade to close the deal, but to no avail. Popovic will soon be a Rossoneri player, thanks to the excellent work of the trio Furlani, Moncada and D’Ottavio.
Good player
Milan beat everyone for Lazetic singing so what’s the point?
The melancholy truth is right now Milan has an issue with empowering and unleashing young talents, simply because Pioli has a way of stifling them, and shows them he does not trust them, that affects the psyche of a young player, Popovic is a good player, he just needs to develop physically, and for the coach to believe in him, and give him the opportunity, but the best thing is to loan him out to a serie a or serie b team, so that he can play regularly…
Yep. Another talented young player straight to the bench or primavera, followed eventually by a loan and then out the back door via transfer. I understand we can’t play eleven 18 year olds (nor would I want to), but the fact that Pioli couldn’t give Simic a single minute against Frosinone in a center back emergency situation is depressing. Chaka Traore has miraculously gotten a couple of minutes since Okafor and Leao are both down. He will disappear again once one of those two come back. I almost feel sorry for Popovic.
I completely agree. This is a disgrace. He would play same 11 unless someone breaking a leg.
I support Pioli as any Milan manager always. But this must change. And quickly.
Already better than this guy.
Nicolò Zaniolo’s player characteristics:
✅ Strengths:
𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔
❌ Weaknesses:
🔴 Holding on to the ball
🔴 Passing
🔴 Aerial Duels
🔴 Finishing
🔴 Crossing
🔴 Defensive contribution
🔴 Discipline.
10 games , ZERO Goals, ZERO Assists, but 3 Yellow cards.
Not a Milan player, though?
He is most likely just trying to troll because Maldini according to rumors had an interest in Zaniolo so there you have it Doki.
Maignan has more assists than Zaniolo already LOL!!!
Thats Milans amazing moneyball analytics for u 😂
Im very much intrigued by this transfer but even though that popovic propably will need some time to to get op in gear and eventually get his debut for the first team, him and camarda up front in a couple of years could make a fantastic partnership.
Question is will he be in senior team? I would if this is FIFA, to build teamwork and skills, also gaining experience and other abilities perhaps 😀
He will most definitely not start playing right away because he hasnt played for a ong time as he refused to renew his contract. He will play in the primavera at first and propably be let gently into the first team, might train some with them but dont expect him to get his debut this season, maybe towards the end of the season if he progresses well but i assume it wont happen before 2024/25 season,
The question now is: will they continue pursuing a “senior” striker in January? You would think that if Popovic is so talented that he would be the solution as an extra rotation option, but given that Pioli hates U21 players, we might need to spend more money on grandpa Taremi or one-hit wonder David.
Popovic isnt a striker, he can play as one but is mainly a an attacking midfielder bt can also play on the right wing but i suppose he is bought to play right behind the striker. He hasnt played a match for a long time so dont bet on him starting right away regardless of talent.
Interesting, I’m not aware of his current form. But as to the other bit, it’s rare to see a 195cm midfielder or winger. Usually height does not translate to dribbling/ball control skills. Maybe Popovic will be an exception?
Yeah i get that
but you never know if they want to transform him into a forward i think the most matches he played was as a cam last season but last time i checked they hadnt used him this season because they were not happy about him refusing to renew his contract so he will come in out of form but the talent is there so we should give him some tiime and even though he might train with the first team i suspect he will only play with the primavera for the rest of the season,
Just save all the little bit of money here and there for all these strikers and invest in a solid striker with a proven record..yes I’m talking about Oshimen. Can hold up play, has pace and probably a Milan fan by the looks of it.
Osimhen?! Osimhen is on an express train to the PL. He will demand at least 12m salary. His contract is up in 2025, meaning even more PL teams will be jumping in as they can reallocate money from a transfer fee to wages. Maybe he will even leave on a free in 2025, since ADL is absolutely crazy and could even refuse to sell despite no renewal. This will make it even worse for us. Fat chance he will arrive at Milan, ever.
My autocorrect always mispell his name when I type it but yes Osimhen 😁
Never hurts to try. He’s more of a pie in the sky in my dream Milan team lol 😂
Lol, well heck, if we’re going to dream why not Mbappe on a free? It’s technically more doable. There is talk of an Investcorp minority investment. Why not use some of that as a lump sum towards Mbappe? Sell 30% of the club for 400m (club valuation of about 1.2bn), allocate 200m to service part of the outstanding loan and allocate 200m over 5 years for Mbappe? 30m per year for a 5 year salary and a 50m signing bonus. Then let the sponsorships and shirt sales roll in. Then after 4 years sell him for 150m to Saudi or EPL and you’ve even made the salary back! The shirts/sponsorships will cover the 50m signing bonus and then some.
Heck yea! No, i do mean that. That option might not be as far fetched as you think. If they really sell the club to PIF that’s easy money. Sure it would be a “work around” to FFP rules but we’d have enough money to bribe UEFA anyway. It’ll be one of those revenue streams like naming rights to a stadium or a pitch at Milanello. Easy way to spend on MBappe (maybe replace Leao if we want to help with he wages). And we’re in business 😁
1) I’m still assuming that we’re going to sign a new forward next summer?
2) Although stats are limited, he mostly plays as an AM but has played before as a forward.
3) This indicates that he is a CDK/Diaz type replacement. (or replacing RLC this year)
4) Although they say he’ll be in the first team, he doesn’t seem too ready to play in Serie A right now. Maybe next year?
5) His contract runs out on Dec 31, so he’s essentially a free signing and I doubt his salary would be too high. Low risk.
6) As someone here said, Lazetic was also pumped up when he signed as a first team squad member and he was definitely not ready for Serie A. I feel Popovic will fall under the same category.
It’s good to get them in early as the adjustment period will go smoother. Not sure how often Pioli will try to use this kid but luckily time is on his side.
We do have plenty of talent in the primavera, just need someone to trust them more to integrate them into the first team and give them minutes.
Problem is at Milan there’s a pressure/expectation to win now/always…
A CdK type of player. We really needed that kind of characteristics.
Soccer seems to be delusional about tall players.
An 18 year old who is this tall, 195cm, is not at an advantage relative to an18 year old who is 10cm or even 15cm shorter at 180-185cm when playing serior level. If anything the tall player is at a disadvantage because of a higher centre of gravity and the reality that it takes longer to build physical strength.
If Popovic is straight into the first team training, I assume that’s part of what it took to convince him to sign. His only match play this season has been U17 internationals.
People have ridiculous expectations. I’d not be surprised or disappointed if Pioli didn’t give him a single minute. I’d hope that Popovic pretty quickly ends up in the Primavera where he can play 15 or 20 matches this season. Even sending him on loan is a pipe dream. No one is giving a kid who has just turned 18 senior minutes.