After a disappointing few months at the club so far, AC Milan seem to have already made a call on Niclas Füllkrug’s future.
In the build-up to the winter transfer window there was a lot of talk about Milan acquiring a striker, and they confirmed the signing of Füllkrug on an initial loan deal from West Ham United just hours after the window had officially opened on January 2.
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He joined on loan with a €5m option to buy, but the German’s time at Milan has unfortunately not gone to plan so far. He has scored just one goal and has never fully convinced under Massimiliano Allegri, who wanted a target man who could guarantee goals.
Fate already sealed
Now, Fabrizio Romano has provided the following update: “Niclas Füllkrug, expected to leave AC Milan in June without plans to activate €5m buy option clause. Füllkrug would return to West Ham and then leave the club again.”
The writing might have been on the wall as early as the last day of the same window, as Milan had €30m ready to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace. However, the Frenchman failed his medical and thus the deal fell apart, but it is a sign that the management didn’t see Füllkrug as enough.
Now, the hope will be that the 33-year-old can offer at least a couple more useful contributions in the pursuit of a top four spot, before both sides shake hands and he returns to London, albeit temporarily it seems.
He’s barely played but he’s also missed chances.
The only thing that could’ve worked is if they’d signed a striker with experience e.g. an Ibra.
Even that doesn’t always work.
Mandžukić didn’t work out. Origi had scored in the champions league and forgot how to score once he came to Milan.
They can’t keep chopping and changing strikers. Whoever they sign this summer to replace…..Leao, Füllkrug, Nkunku, Giménez, maybe even Pulisic…..they need to find a long term solution.
They need to recognise the player may not hit the ground running and score 30 goals in his first season but they need to give the player time.
Look at Shevchennko and Inzaghi’s stats. There were seasons when they scored 5 and 2 Serie A goals respectively in their worst seasons.
If someone who is paid seven figures has decided to pay eight figures to sign a player they can’t just change their minds about that player after a few months (without being sacked themselves).
No other organisation would accept this.
What organisation would just accept a write off of a multimillion euro asset?
This happens constantly and without consequences. A lack of consequences breeds incompetence.
For starters, they need to bring a good striker. A good striker is more likely to succeed, even assuming a bad start or a bad season.
You mentionned Shevchenko and Inzaghi. The former was already a world class striker and will be third in the ballon d’or by the time we got him and the latter was also a very sought and respected striker.
But every since Ibrahimović and Giroud, we failed to bring a player who could make a very good case for himself.
Okafor wasn’t a striker per say and was at best an option from the bench.
Jović was more of a second striker, although I do think not keeping him was a big mistake.
Abraham blew hot and cold but wasn’t very stellar either.
Morata was an experienced player but never the offensive threat we needed.
Giménez leaves a lot to be desired and comes from a weak league and finally Füllkrug is probably the worst of all.
Now, on that note, the management has to answer a lot of question. Why did they stall the striker negociations all summer, when Allegri specifically needed one, only to target Boniface who will fail the medical test and then bring Nkunku, a player who hasn’t enjoyed success in a while and isn’t even a striker ? And why stall this issue again during winter, only to go yet again for a player who will fail the medical test (Mateta), bring a failed player (Füllkrug) while our opponents bring a player like Malen who scored 10 goals in just under 12 serie A games ?
“They need to recognise the player may not hit the ground running and score 30 goals in his first season but they need to give the player time.”
For sure. But will they?!!! NOPE. How many times have we witnessed that already? CDK & Gimenez will be the latest ones. They’ve probably already lost hope on Camarda too.
We are doomed until the new owner shows up or Cardinale decides to put more emphasis on success on the pitch than the finances. But that’s not going to happen. At least not with the banker in charge of the club.