An article has suggested that AC Milan could look to bring Mauro Icardi back to the city as they look for a new striker in the summer.
According to Sebastiano Vernazza’s piece for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Olivier Giroud should go to America to end his career in the MLS, partly because he has earned the right to do so and partly because Milan should look to the future.
There are many names doing the rounds in the media as Giroud’s potential replacement, with two standing out above all: Benjamin Sesko, a 20-year-old Slovenia international at RB Leipzig and Jonathan David, a 24-year-old Canadian at Lille.
They are solid profiles but they are worth €50m and have admirers in the Premier League. Joshua Zirkzee also stands out among the eligible candidates but he too would command a high asking price and has shown himself to be more of a ‘9.5’ than a No.9.
The temptation
This is why Icardi could emerge as an option for Milan. Since moving to Galatasaray from PSG he has 46 in 64 official appearances, six of which came in 12 games in European competitions. The latest goals came on Sunday; a brace against Kasimpasa in the Super Lig.
Icardi has just turned 31, meaning he has a few years ahead of him. In July 2023, Galatasaray bought him outright from the Parisians, signing him up to a contract until 2026 with a salary worth €10m gross per year.
The transfer value algorithms have him as a player worth around €20m, but it may be that Galatasaray ask for more. Nonetheless, it seems a ‘feasible operation’ and sustainable from a financial point of view.
It would be a deal that goes against the trend of the ownership’s philosophy (the club aims to sign young players to develop them) but it would be ‘an intelligent exception from a footballing point of view’ as per the writer.
Reunited with Pioli?
We don’t know who the next Milan coach will be but if Stefano Pioli remained in his place, the problem of Icardi’s integration would be removed. Pioli coached Icardi at Inter 2016-17, when he amassed 15 goals and seven assists in 24 matches across all competitions.
Christian Pulisic on the right and Rafael Leao from the left would guarantee continuous service for the man who is the prototype of the natural No.9, a striker who puts away nearly everything that falls to him in the box.
Icardi as a Milan player would be a provocation to Inter too, yet the city’s football history is full of similar plots and exchanges. Without delving too much into the past, from Meazza to Pirlo, passing through Vieri, Ronaldo and Seedorf, Icardi at Milan could be like Zlatan when he arrived.
On a personal level, the Argentine would gladly return to Milano, where he retains ownership of houses ready to welcome him back. The same goes for his wife, Wanda Nara, and their children, who are ‘Milanese’ by adoption, some by birth.
