GdS: Milan want to partner Gimenez with ‘a great striker’ – Nunez tops wish list

AC Milan could add a striker to their squad this summer and Darwin Nunez is one of the top targets, willing to consider a new adventure after a tough season at Liverpool.

A great striker for a great Milan. This was the opening sentence of Gazzetta dello Sport this morning (see photo below), focusing on the Rossoneri’s plans for the No.9 role. Indeed, it’s something that Max Allegri and Igli Tare have been thinking about for quite some time.

While it’s true that Milan already have Santiago Gimenez, who is the biggest investment of the RedBird era, the idea is to pair him with another centre-forward of a high calibre. A No.9 capable of guaranteeing goals and holding up the weight of San Siro without hesitation.

The list is made up of several names and in recent days, Darwin Nunez, who has fallen out with Liverpool, has also been proposed to the club.

Nunez’s talent remains

Nunez, a Uruguayan, was born in 1999 and has been with the Reds since 2022, when he left Benfica in a hefty €85m deal. He was supposed to be Klopp’s great response to Pep Guardiola, who in the same summer had brought a certain Erling Haaland to Manchester. In hindsight, that didn’t pan out.

In 143 appearances, Nunez has bagged just 40 goals after coming off a season with 34 goals in 41 appearances at Benfica. Perhaps the style of the Premier League, coupled with the constant criticism of the fans, doesn’t suit the player, but his talent remains.

It’s precisely the semi-failure in Liverpool that makes him attractive to Milan and, more generally, to Serie A. In addition to the Rossoneri, Napoli have also given the Uruguayan a little thought, with Antonio Conte who would gladly have him as Romelu Lukaku’s partner.

The thinking is similar at Milan. If he arrives, Nunez could be the only striker, but also an extraordinary partner for Gimenez. The two have played in front twos before and while the Mexican likes to attack the goal the most, the Uruguayan is more versatile with his movement.

Change is on the cards

After a year spent mostly on the bench, Nunez wants a change of scenery. The relationship with Arne Slot isn’t the same as it was with Klopp, and a new adventure could be needed to get back to scoring. That doesn’t mean Liverpool would be able to give discounts, though…

Compared to other top-level strikers, however, the player at least has a ‘reasonable’ salary: €4.7m per season. Less than Victor Osimhen or Dusan Vlahovic, just to name two of the No.9s that have made a lot of headlines so far this summer.

Of course, it won’t be easy for Milan to make the signing happen, even if they decide to give it a serious go. For this reason, the Rossoneri have several alternatives for the role and, at the moment, have not deepened talks with anyone. We are still at the evaluation and survey stage.

Tare recently saw Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic in Albania-Serbia. The final score, 0-0, didn’t generate much enthusiasm from Milan’s point of view. Mateo Retegui has slightly more affordable costs, between the transfer fee and salary. However, he has a different profile than Nunez.