After having decided on Paulo Fonseca as their new head coach, the AC Milan management have also settled on the striker that they would like to ‘gift’ him as per a report this morning.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, there is one certainty regarding Zirkzee and that is that he will be playing Champions League football next season. He just has to decide which team he will do so for, and Milan are pushing strongly.
Zirkzee has always been at the forefront of the minds of the directors and continues to be so while alternative targets like Viktor Gyökeres and Benjamin Sesko already seem to be way out of reach in terms of a transfer fee.
Milan, like all the other teams, can sign the Dutchman by paying €40m (his release clause) plus commissions to his agent. Unconfirmed but logical rumours say that those commissions wuld be very substantial, as always for a player who can be purchased at a reduced price.
The motive is clear: Zirkzee can decide where to go and two circumstances help the hopes of the Milan fans. The first: Joshua would prefer to stay in Italy to continue his development. The second: Milan really tries.
The obstacles
The issue, in this story, can come from the north west. Juventus have Thiago Motta, who can entice Zirkzee. Of course, they must also decide what to do with Dusan Vlahovic, which is not a simple topic at the start of the transfer window.
Even further north west, the Premier League is the big threat. Arsenal are very interested, Manchester United have moved early, while many other clubs have great spending power that clubs within Serie A do not have.
It is believed that things will become clearer soon, because Zirkzee was not called up by the Netherlands for the European Championship, perhaps somewhat surprisingly.
It means that no one will fall in love with him between June and July. Paulo Fonseca, Milan’s chosen coach for the post-Pioli era, observes everything from afar.
Would it work?
Fonseca at Roma used Edin Dzeko as a centre-forward a lot and alternatively Nikola Kalinic and Borja Mayoral. At Lille, however, the striker was by Jonathan David, so very different profiles.
Zirkzee has been described as a ‘9.5’ for his playmaking tendencies, which means he would be a fascinating and original experiment for Fonseca. Zirkzee moves around the pitch, seeks combinations, and has no problems exchanging positions with the other attackers.
On the one hand, he can be perfect for enhancing Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor, who would love to exploit the space. On the other hand, he leaves a question mark on his presence in the area, which Zirkzee and Leao frequent much less than others.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek attacks the goal with great pleasure, but the problem of his presence in the last 16 metres could arise, especially with deeper defences. The Milan fans looking for a 20-goal striker would also point out that Zirkzee only scored 11 in the league.
Timing is a factor in this story. Milan, by taking their No.9 early, would send a signal to the world and allow Fonseca to work immediately with the man who would lead the line. If he convinced Zirkzee and his agent, he would burn out the competition.
