AC Milan are on the hunt for a new striker ahead of the summer and there are four candidates that stand out, a report claims, with each having positive and negative aspects.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) outlines the names that currently top Milan’s list: Joshua Zirkzee of Bologna, Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig, Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord and Jonathan David of Lille. They also state the pros and cons of each.
Zirkzee: In November, Rafa Leao liked an article that talked about Zirkzee as a target for Milan on social media. The Dutchman has grown a lot with Thiago Motta and gives the impression of having enormous potential.
He knows Italian football, he has the physique to command and at San Siro he demonstrated – against Inter and Milan – that he doesn’t suffer from pressure. He creates 1.3 chances per game too, much more than his competitors.
However, Zirkzee has only reached double figures in league goals once in his career, with Anderlecht in Belgium. This raises questions about whether he can be that 20+ goal man.
Another question is adapting to a football different from that of Thiago Motta. Motta is also a potential candidate for a post-Pioli era but he is wanted by a number of different clubs.
There is a doubt about how he would fair against deep blocks which Milan often face, with much more pressure on him too given that he would come with a big price tag.
Bayern Munich can buy him back for €40m and that figure is the starting price. Clubs in the Premier League are interested, which means the Rossoneri start the race from a difficult position.
Gimenez: If we make it a question of numbers, Gimenez is a great candidate. He shoots on average two times per game, while his expected goals per game are 0.93.
He lives in the penalty area, where he is reactive, alert and finds solutions even in tight spaces. At 22 years of age he will get better, while he scored 15 goals in the last Eredivisie season with Feyenoord and is on 19 goals in 19 games this time around.
But watch out for the unknowns. The first: the Netherlands. The Eredivisie sometimes inflates the numbers and that must be taken into consideration, especially given that Feyenoord will inflate their price tag to €50m.
Among the four targets to be talked about he is perhaps the least tested at a high level (only four Champions League appearances), while there is a question about his physicality given he is 180cm tall. The pressure at San Siro could be more complex for him.
Sesko: The RB Leipzig forward is the number one candidate at the moment. The world has been talking about him for years because his qualities are all too evident: he has physique and technique, he can score goals in all ways and seems built for the football of 2030.
Last season he scored 16 goals in the league for Red Bull Salzburg, with the national team he has scored goals against Sweden, Norway and Serbia, and he has netted in the Champions League too.
He seems like a good candidate to partner Leao because he can fill the area but also play with his back to goal to bring the wingers and midfielders into the game.
However, he is perhaps in the most difficult moment. With Leipzig he only started six games in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League he has two starts. Leipzig’s strikers are of a good level but overall, it’s not a great sign.
Sesko has had some muscle injuries but the main concerns are cost and competition. At the moment he can’t be bought for less than €40m, but the Red Bull group are in no hurry to sell him and if they did there would be big bids.
David: In the age-experience ratio, David beats everyone. He is 24 years old but has been playing for Lille since 2020, has been to the World Cup, has played in the Champions League and Europa League since 2018.
Not only that, he has a huge advantage: his contract expires in 2025, which he will not renew. For an interested club, it means two things: a low transfer fee and potentially a high salary.
Milan, who already tried to sign him a summer ago, will remain on the horizon, ready to talk to Lille and his agent. The 24 goals scored in the last Ligue 1 season stand out, and while he only has six in the league this time it becomes 11 across all competitions.
Between August and November he did not score in Ligue 1, which is a worry, while there are also doubts about the fact he is not a physical striker but rather a player built for transitions.
A potential pairing with Leao on the one hand arouses curiosity, on the other it leaves some doubts: David loves to play on the centre-left, where Leao expands and does his damage.
I will take David
Take him. And keep him away from Milan
of course, new balotelli the pk king
Due to the interest of the other clubs and the price they will ask for them, the transfer of Zirkzee and Sesko will probably be very difficult. Gimenez in the Dutch league seems imposing, but as it says in the text, it is a league that can hardly be compared to Serie A in terms of style of play ! David is currently in somewhat weaker form and is a different type of player, especially from these first two, but his contract is expiring and the price will be much more acceptable which could have a decisive role in the selection. The club management and the coach need to know what they want, and what kind of player they need, because none of the four players can certainly guarantee a safe investment !