AC Milan once again made the decision during the summer to not make a big financial investment (in terms of transfer fee) in a striker, and may have some regrets.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have returned to the game against Genoa on Sunday night, recalling how Milan spurned several big chances to win the match and probably avoid – or at least delay – the climate of protest we are now seeing.
While Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata failed to find the back of the net with shots from good positions, Victor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko continue to light up Sporting CP and RB Leipzig. The relevance? They are two players Milan strongly evaluated.
The post-Genoa protest revolves around the concept of mediocrity. It is a challenging at the modus operandi of a club that has been trying to follow a financially-driven line for years but penny pinch when it comes to signing the most important player: a striker.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived in 2019 on a free, Olivier Giroud came for €1m plus €1m in bonuses and Alvaro Morata joined for €13m. The common theme: profiles over 30 years of agent who marry well with the concept of minimum effort, maximum yield.
The Frenchman always scored double figures, but then left a void after three years. The fans were asking for an investment and it seems that Sesko, Gyokeres and Joshua Zirkzee were all followed closely. Yet, when the time came to push the boat out, they remained on the shoreline.
How close did things come? There was a meeting with Sesko’s agent at Casa Milan during the Maldini-Massara era. At least one other meeting took place with the current management. RB Leipzig convinced him to renew in June, but with an offer of €60m Milan could have got him.
Gyokeres was less approachable than Sesko, thanks to the monstrous clause of €100m in his Sporting deal, but here too lies a lesson. Geoffrey Moncada has appreciated him for years, Ibrahimovic was his big endorser, though when it was realised how string he is it was too late.
Morata and Abraham have scored 10 goals between them in all competitions to date. The same as Sesko, but not even half as many as Gyokeres, with 26 goals, which rises to a ridiculous 109 in the last four years.
Looking at their performance today, Sesko and Gyokeres are worth much more than the €60m that Milan could have spent. It’s called an investment because while there is a certain amount of risk in spending a lot, the idea is that it is repaid with goals, sporting success and possibly a bigger fee down the line.
At least we didn’t spend 60M on Zirkzee. Imagine if these guys had signed him and he was sitting on one or two goals right now. Management would get absolutely roasted. They’ve made a number of mistakes, but sometimes it really is damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Zirkzee is not a striker/goal scorer, that has always been clear, he was never the right profile for us
I would have prefered zirkee than the combination of Morata and Tammy. Zirkee would have performed with Leao ,pulisic, tijjani beside him . Morata and Tammy score when they can sometimes whenm they can they still can’t
The summer we signed CDK from Brugges, they also had Openda who was sold for peanuts to France.
Either scout and take a chance on an up and coming striker like the ones mentioned or open the wallet and buy one, we have done neither, just get old average players.
And yet many on here say our problem is not scoring goals! Well it is one of our problems when we come up against better defenses and has been for years.
If we had a better striker last year we would have gotten out of our CL group, a group from which 2 semi finalists came.
This is very good article to explain.
What Milan do is not investing, but rather gambling, in terms of small affordable loosing fee. Milan is “supergluing” its team, year by year, expecting to gain minimum revenue income to finish year with positive balance sheet.
But already, one year with Pioli, they managed to lose that minimum spot, which was gained by again after penalty to Juventus.
This year is best year to see what is real value on the pitch of this squad and coach. And both are results of management “investments”. How much they invested that much they gained, and that is 8th spot, very soon 09th or10th.
Serie A is a very different league to the one Sesko plays in. The ease of goals does not translate. I’m sure it would still be better than what Tammy and Morata are putting up, despite all their hard work and efforts.
Who would create the chances for Sesko and Gyokeres? Those two play in leagues that favor attackers who like to run in behind. You aren’t getting that kind of space in Serie A. Lets not forget that there isn’t a consistent creator in this team.
You can’t expect strikers who just joined the team to start firing without building relationships with a consistent creator.
I see you’re still pretending Sesko is a €60 million striker. He has 5 goals in the Bundesliga. His finishing is Tammy Abraham level. There are no lessons from Milan’s striker pursuit. Zirkzee has tanked so far at Man United, Sesko is mediocre and Gyokeres, who was out of reach in any case, is the only top level striker among those linked so in fact we dodged two expensive bullets. Of course, as you worship names that are flavour of the month, what you didn’t do is what some of us urged and looked at Serie A and guys like Retegui, Dia and Piamonti.
Look at the strikers of teams competing with us for the scudetto. Does anyone believe Giroud or Morata are better than Vlahovic, Lautoro, or Lukako? We need the best striker in the league. If we put Leao there with someone decent we should get there.
Gyokeres already out of reach . 100m euro release clause , even if you negotiating , sporting will still ask 80m euro cash without loan or instalment payment. Just look at atalanta got cheap lookman or retegui , no need to pay overprice as long as your club have great scouting team. Morata & Tammy just in first year with ACM,judge them after the end of season not now. Dusan vlahovic the most highest salary in juve ( 12m euro nett/ season) cost juve transfer fee 75m euro only scoring 11 goal ( 5 from penalty) , big money striker not always working for serie A
Serie A is a coach driven league and you are totally right that big money strikers typically don’t produce at the same levels as in lesser leagues. Its kinda ironic but if Tammy and Morata were able to burry half of the absolute sitters they missed the narrative and trajectory of the season might be entirely different
Wouldn’t signing a top striker block Camarda? In hindsight I think signing a proper 10 would’ve been prudent given Fonseca determination to play a 4231. Maybe when Bennacer is back Tijji will move up. But maybe going for Dybala on loan is a move to help.
As they say: you get what you pay for 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I remember people waffling their fingers typing how morata was a good deal and a steal.
Saying all sorts how he captains Spain, how he links up how he….. All manner of sorts. But not how he is a reliable goal scorer.
Oh well that is biting Milan now. Or how they wrote Abraham is a good love because he adds pressure and his string and is blah blah blah.
They refused to actually hold management to their broken words of signing an actual competent young striker. Instead they drank the cool aid that Camarda would be ready in five years time🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️.
I swear many of the Milan fans are as much the problem as the management/ownership. They are easily swayed by anything management does and I doubt they can actually think. For themselves, as opposed to sheep following.
Sad, just sad. Now those market errors comes back full circle to Milan. Time really vindicated everything.
Oh well….
Forza Diavolo
Instead of buying a good up and coming striker like Openda or Boniface who they were looking at and interested in, they bought old and slow Zlatan and Giroud. Fans were happy with there 10 goals a season. I would always have young, fast hungry striker any day. The old striker was to make sure Camarda not blocked. What makes you certain he going to be good when he’s 20? If he is I get Dollaruma vibes where he will hold club hostage and then leave oncheap or free.
strikers usually more expensive than other pos,
Sesko or Joker? we give-up in free Thuram vs worst financially club @league.
if Galliani is uncle faster of transfer, our current is slowest ba574rd
Regrets? I had a few……
We could also have picked up Mason Greenwood cheap and he is rocking at Marseilles…
You don’t get an easy ride supporting Milan!