Olivier Giroud and Luka Jovic will continue to share the task of leading the line for AC Milan, but a report has claimed that only one is likely to remain beyond June.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Jovic appeared lost after leaving Eintracht Frankfurt for Real Madrid and then Fiorentina, but he is now making a mark again at Milan and he looks back to his confident best.
Giving up at the age of 26 was not an option, especially when at 21 he convinced Real Madrid to shell out €60m to sign him. Jovic worked on himself and Stefano Pioli assured him that his moment would come.
When that moment arrived, the numbers followed: the Serbian has amassed six goals (and one assist) in the last eight games across all competitions at an average of a goal every 60 minutes.
Geoffrey Moncada spoke before the Udinese game about the possibility of a renewal and he left everything open, because the paradoxical problem is that not everything depends on the player concerned.
To frame the situation, we need to start from a certainty: in the summer (a January signing seems to be ruled out) a strong and fairly young centre-forward will arrive at Milanello.
The names that have circulated so far with the greatest credibility are those of Jonathan David, Serhou Guirassy and Benjamin Sesko, though other targets have been mentioned.
Then, as Moncada himself said in that same interview, there are others that have not yet emerged in the media but on which the club is working secretly.
It is in the context of a new addition being made that the scenario makes more sense. Giroud, whose contract is expiring, becomes decisive in the planning.
At the moment the Frenchman has not yet decided what he will do next season. Just like a year ago, in his case there is no rush for a decision with the next two-three months key.
Going into concrete terms: if the 37-year-old were to continue at this pace, it is reasonable to assume that he would want to have another season at Milanello. Maybe not as a starter, but still as a highly decorated alternative.
If, however, the last few months were less satisfactory, he would look around. Giroud is tempted by the world of the MLS in American, also for subsequent career developments once he says goodbye to playing football.
The conclusion therefore for Jovic is simple, considering that his contract will also expire in June: taking the purchase of a new striker as a given, Giroud’s permanence (in addition to Noah Okafor’s adaptability) would close the door.
Don’t think that is definitely one or the other until we find out who the new coach is and what kind of offensive setup he will have.
Just my opinion but I don’t think Giroud is staying to be a backup. Plus, as the article says, he wants to try the MLS experience while he can still play. He’ll be 38 when next season starts. If he doesn’t go there this summer, he might miss his chance.
In the end, if you have to make a decision. I’d rather go with the younger Jovic than the older Giroud. One of them hasn’t even reached his prime, just turned 26 and can still improve while the other will only get worse fast.
Ideally, both will stay and back up one of Sesko or Zirkzee (wishful thinking). Giroud tutelage will be essential in the new strikers growth.
Jovic doesn’t play much but he’s still fitting in goals regularly. Let him play regularly. And it would also be painful to see Giroud leave as he does play a good part in this team. I would want both of them to stay. Giroud for one more season.
Maybe that’s just the sentimental part of myself speaking.
All baseless speculation
As much as i love and thankful to giroud.
I don’t think milan should continue with him beyond this season.
Preferably if he himself decides not to sign for another year, so it would still look nice i suppose.
Milan should look forward.
I don’t mind milan keeping jovic as back up.
But Milan should sign another striker, a proven one, not just another promising talent etc.
But then again, we have to wait for the new manager to know what kind of player milan will need.
We have to prioritise the 26yo striker over the 37yo striker.
That is just basic logic
As we’re trying to find a new #9 for the future to come the basic logic would be to use the one who offers more now. And that’s Giroud. Most likely that would be the case next season too.
“#9 for the future”
Jovic is here, he is scoring goals at a rate of 1 every 60 mins.
Of course we will need someone else, but as you rightly say, “use the one that offers more now”.
Giroud has some good stats this season but he has also had huge goal droughts and his contribution to overall play is minimal.
Anyway, we can’t ignore the fact he is turns 38 this year. Time waits for nobody, let’s be prepared
Giroud must leaf
Every team needs a Solskjaer or a Bierhoff fro that matter
We need to go all in for Sesko, after Guirassy or Scamacca
So ridiculous. People just can’t wait to push the guy that leads the team in goals and assists out the door.
Grioud is punching above his weight and his returns are nice, but he is aging and he won’t be able to keep at this pace. When was the last time he scored with his legs?
We need a younger alternative with lots of room to grow and improve. Inter have Lautaro playing out of his mind while we’re trying to hold onto a 37yo… Really?
Step it up on the striker please, Milan.
You could’ve said the same thing about Giroud last season and many did, and here he is having an even better season this year. He has 17 goal contributions in 18 Serie A matches. Lautaro , who is a top 5 striker in the world right now, by comparison has 20 goal contributions in 18 matches. To get rid of Giroud solely based on age would be a terrible mistake.
And I like Jovic, but let’s be honest, a few of his goals were just rebounds where he happened to be in the right place, like this last one which was really Giroud’s.
It’s hard to find players like Giroud and Jovic without spending a lot of money. Milan better be ready to open that wallet if they plan to not keep them both.
It’s fairly obvious that we should go for a new striker this summer (and a legit one with 20+ league goals per season in a legit league), but I think we should keep both Jovic and Giroud.
Jovic is young-ish and is currently having one of his best seasons in a while, having scored 6 goals and assisting once in a little bit south of 700 minutes (or around 9 games), THAT’S PRETTY GOOD if you ask me.
As for Giroud, while many seem to have already brought their shovel to burry the veteran, he still has 19 G/A il all competitions this season and already at 10 goals in serie A. Now he is old, and a massive collapse of performance can happen in the span of a season (see Zlatan from 2021 to 2023). But in my opinion, currently he has more than earned a spot for next season even as a backup. Also we shoudln’t forgot about his winner mentality and him having actually won many titles (which start to become a luxury seeing how many new players we bring in each season). And I still think that we should try to keep as many of our players as possible, especially the goalscoring ones.
Also, from a tactical point of view, we can sometimes use 2 strikers simultanously, so having 3 in the team doesn’t seem so outrageous.
Yes we need to finally buy a starting striker but that doesn’t mean it should be Jovic or that we should just discard Giroud because he will be 38. IF Giroud wants to stay he absolutely should and would be the perfect backup and occasional starter for big games. He still produces BUT cannot be expected to play every 3 days like a 25 yr old. We Just have to manage his minutes wisely (like we did with Maldini later in his career) and he will still be productive for another season. Jovic has to do much more to anoint him as the starter IMO. Yes he has scored 6 goals BUT let’s add some CONTEXT. Most of his goals have been scored WITH Giroud or another striker on the pitch. 2 of the 6 goals were in Coppa Italia and another 2 were tap ins (like the one vs Udinese). A goal is a goal yes and he has been moving better as of late – BUT he has a long way to go to prove he is starting caliber and can lead our line as a SINGLE STRIKER #9. In a 2 striker system yes, but as a single target #9 I am not convinced YET. Let’s see.
And I don’t think Jovic should preclude us from going after the names we are allegedly after – Sesko, Zirzkee, etc…although with the prices quoted it seems far fetched we would ever spend more than 20-25M on any player. We shall see