Santiago Gimenez might have hoped for a better start to life at AC Milan, but he still enjoys the full trust of the club.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Gimenez cost around €30m and in just over two months (11 appearances) he has scored three goals, for a not inconsiderable price of €10m per goal. Having signed a deal until 2029 though, Gimenez has all the time to justify Milan’s investment.
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A few days away from his 24th birthday, on April 18, Gimenez cannot be branded as a flop, even if it is true that at Milan he went from the status of top four saviour to third in the centre-forward hierarchies.
Performance levels
Gimenez started strong, with two consecutive goals in the league against Empoli and Verona, and with a goal against his former club Feyenoord at San Siro in the Champions League play-offs, an illusory goal given the eventual elimination.
Then, the darkness set in and the loss of his permanent position follows. In the last two rounds, against Napoli and Fiorentina, he was relegated to being a reserve option. This was partly due to his physical condition and partly because of the resurgence of Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic.
Failing to convert a penalty at the Maradona did not help, and now Milan fans are starting to wonder if Gimenez is ‘not a dud or a shooting star’ but rather ‘a kind of Luther Blissett of the new millennium’. However, the comparison is wide of the mark.
Gimenez-style strikers need to be supported with a clear playing style and Sergio Conceiçao’s Milan struggles in this respect. It is not clear what the ideas are that Conceiçao is trying to convey, and they constantly go behind in games.
Then there is the acclimatisation aspect. As for the defensive phase, there is no comparison between the Eredivisie and Serie A. In the Netherlands the defences are far from the physical, rough, man-to-man rearguards seen in Italy.
It is likely that today Gimenez feels suffocated, that he suffers from getting less space. At Feyenoord, however, he also scored goals in Europe, including five against Lazio in the Champions League and Europa League and one against Roma in the Europa League. So, he can do it.
What the future holds
Conceiçao will leave at the end of May, and the new coach will determine Gimenez’s fate, in agreement with the new sporting director. These are figures yet to come. Talks are underway for the sporting director, it is likely that there are movements for the coach too.
Gimenez is clearly a talented striker but perhaps not the ideal centre-forward for every coach. Antonio Conte has Romelu Lukaku, and Gimenez has little in common with the Belgian. Massimiliano Allegri had Dusan Vlahovic, and Roberto De Zerbi would perhaps prefer another mould too.
These are examples, based on the names that are circulating as the possible new manager of Milan. It will be important to ask whoever arrives what he thinks of Gimenez, and in the event of critical judgments it will be necessary to act accordingly.
Forcing situations doesn’t pay, in the event it’s better to ‘use’ Gimenez as a bargaining chip or sell him. It’s an extreme hypothesis, but at this stage nothing can be ruled out.
Good finisher but he’s slow and he’s clumsy on the ball. I would go with Tammy and Jovic while we wait for Carmada to develop. Scoring goals is not our problem anyways.
Maybe not the new Blisset (whatever who was 😆), but certainly the new Piatek 2.0. Average at best
I tried SO HARD to warn everyone about this guy. The numbers made him look insane but all you needed to do was look at his record with Mexico and what those fans think of him. Or just use your eyes when you watch him play. The biggest problem is that he is not an athlete.
I said before about him you can’t take him out of Dutch football and straight into seria I said before
he is not good enough a total waste of time and money I bet his agent is rubbing his hands.
Look at this pathetic fanbase turn on this guy after literally 2 months! We don’t deserve nay success when the fanbase is this stupid and toxic. They’d rather go with two of the worst strikers we’ve had in the last 10 years rather than give a new marquee signing a little bit more time despite the team around him being garbage, which is hilarious. Id*ots, absolute id*ots. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Seriously who died and made you the arbiter of what is acceptable fan behaviour.
You’ve just called Abraham & Jovic the two worst strikers for Milan in the last 10 years.
How is that any different?
At least those two are delivering goals & assists in the limited on-field time they have been given in the last half and 1.5 seasons they have been with the club.
The concerns people have been raising on Gimenez are generally legit. In many cases people are not so much criticising him so much as if his skill set is suited at all to the players and formation around him.
Which is more a criticism of management than the player.
Because I’m right, it’s as simple as that. Am I wrong about Abraham and Jovic?
When have those two been delivering goals and assists consistently? Jovic has been here for years, not months, YEARS, and he has done nothing, except the occasional appearance off the bench. Abraham is the same. We’ve had this guy for a year and the most he’ll do is have a little spell, usually in cup competition. Look at their stats, pal.
I’m not saying there are no legit concerns, but he has been here for 2 months! That’s nothing. And the team is freakin’ awful around him. The type of striker he is, in and around the box, he needs service and creators, which he doesn’t really have.
I agree about the management, though.
“Because I’m right, it’s as simple as that. Am I wrong about Abraham and Jovic?”
You are. Lazetic, Mandzukic, Kalinic, Destro, Torres (well, that was 11 years ago though), Luiz Adriano, Lapadula, one could claim Andre Silva was worse than this duo too.
So… Yes. You were absolutely wrong. You were waaaaaaaaaaaaaay off.
“Jovic has been here for years, not months”
LOL. Nope. Wrong again. He signed for Milan in September 2023. So 1 and a half years ago. Less than 2 years can – and should – be counted counted in months and definitely not in years.
So… Try again. 🙂
They deserve their ownership and management.
Player had not even spent a season, and they have turned on him. What a useless fanbase. They are as bad as PL fans.
Even when Gimenez has scored goals, or that the team doesn’t play to his strength or that the whole team is playing worse, they single him out. Just like they singled Abraham and jovic out months back for similar reasons.
What a joke of a fanbase. And what’s worse I am part of the fanbase, so that makes me the punch line🤦♂️🤦♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️