AC Milan are eyeing the mercato for opportunities, and with a striker needed, Geoffrey Moncada may have an opportunity to bring one of his ‘favourites’ to the club.
The striker situation at Milan is certainly confusing. Alvaro Morata is a fantastic older option, and if he was scoring more, then there would be less need to assess the market. Tammy Abraham has quality and is appreciated, but has struggled with consistency. Then, Francesco Camarda is arguably still not ready for the limelight.
For this reason, another striker would be welcomed among the Milanello walls, and Geoffrey Moncada could look to bring a player who he has been tracking for some time, a player which Milan News deems is one of his ‘favourites’.
This player in question is Stefanos Tzimas, the 19-year-old is enjoying a prolific spell in the German second tier, where he has scored eight goals in 14 appearances on loan from PAOK.
It is specifically this part which causes issues. He can be bought as part of the loan for €18 million plus a 5% sell-on clause, which would be outrageous for Nurnburg to consider. However, the club are considering doing so, if there is a buyer ready to purchase him immediately.
This should be no problem, though. According to the report, Fulham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester United have looked at the possibility of the young striker. Interest from Italy also exists, from Milan, as well as Inter and Juventus.
A deal would be doable for €23-24m, but whether the striker is worth the risk, having not played in the top flight must be decided internally.
so anyone other than an actual striker… kudos Moncada
The problem is there are not very many true strikers any more. I saw Rio Ferdinand talking about this in an interview. He was talking about the great strikers he used to have to face. Zlatan, Adriano, Del Piero, Van Nistlerooy, Henry, Drogba, Suarez, etc..
There is no comparison to that today. Most of them today are not real strikers, like Morata, they are more 9 and 1/2 then a real 9.
Yep, thanks to tiki-taka and high press. The skillset required of attackers now demands more ability on the ball and more time spent playing outside the box. Gone are the days of classic no. 9 that sit at the top of the box waiting to be fed.
We still have few of them just that they can’t be compared to those likes, e.g Victor Osimhen reminds us of strikers like Drogba, obafemi martins etc.
Most of those “great strikers” had goalscoring figures that are considered average or slightly above average nowadays. Compare them with Haaland, Mbappe (playing as a striker), Lewandowski, Gyokeres, Harry Kane, Osimhen. Most of those “great strikers” were at the same level with Isak, Thuram, Vlahovic, Openda, i.e. can’t be compared with today’s the very best. Some people just want to portray their time as better.
Different times, different numbers.
If you want to make the claim the Haaland, Mbappe, Osimhen and Kane are better than Batistuta, Shevchenko and Ronaldo because they score on average more goals per game Then all of them are surely inferior to Puskas, Friendenreich and of course Bican who have more goals than games throughout their careers.
In the early 80s up until the mid 2000s, football was much closed than today and the average goal per game was less than today’s. It wasn’t just the strikers who scored less, teams overall scored less. Also up until the early 90s, with the offside still easier for defenders, the goalkeeper allowed to get the ball with his hands, the cards seldom given and the win valued at 2 points instead of 3, teams were more tactically drawn to pursue a draw rather than a win.
I’ve also read an article that mentions how today’s central defenders were defensive midfielders in the 90s. In the 80s and 90s, liberos and stoppers were still a thing and defenders received a pure defensive training but nowadays coaches tend to pick players who can pass the ball, build an attack even if their defensive abilities aren’t that great. You mentioned that most of the past “great strikers” don’t score that much compared to today’s, why don’t you also mention that today, aside from prime Van Dijk or prime Ramos, no central defender can hold a candle to the likes of Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini, Baresi, Thuram, Kohler,…
So it’s not about one time being better or worse, but in the end, different eras, different requirments.
“So it’s not about one time being better or worse, but in the end, different eras, different requirments.”
I fully agree with this. In past times the teams were more defensive, but on the other hand today’s strikers are requested to do much more in defensive work and linkup play. I don’t want to say that today’s strikers are better; my point is that there is no reason at all to think that at any point in the past the strikers were better than nowadays. Yes, Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini, Baresi, Thuram, Kohler were great defenders, but the quality of the average one was not anything better than nowadays; if anything, the average defender now is physically better built. Since the context and demands have changed, no balanced comparision can be made between strikers of the past and the current ones, and Rio Ferdinand’s conclusion cited above is plain wrong.
Well said, mate. The likes of Ronaldo, Van Basten, Romario, Batistuta, may not have scored as much as 50 per season, but, you cannot compare even Mbappe with them. Today, strikers are better protected. See the likes of Edmundo, or the German goalkeeper in the 80s, who injured a striker, and didn’t get a yellow. Check the big clubs in Europe today, and the defenders they have. You can’t even compare them with the ones from the 80s or 90s. Football is softer now; even more so, with VAR.
I was watching highlights of Graeme Souness the other day. Man would probably be in prison and charged with attempted murder by today’s standards.
Teams also used to play much better defense than they do today. Now it’s all high line and defenders that have to be attackers as well. It’s the difference between Maldini and Theo. One was a real defender. The other is winger posing as a defender. The game has changed and not for the better.
Yes, but on the other hand nowadays strikers are requested to do much more in defensive work and linkup play, i.e. they spend less time in the box.
Those striker on today’s football would not score that much in the old defences.
Only Haaland, Lewy, lautaro & Osimhen are lethal. The rest are average, maybe gyokeres someday.
8 Goals in 15 Games in the second Tier.
Than he is H: 1,86m. I also don’t think a deal would be doable for €23-24m because AC MILAN Never goes over the E20m Cash. Let him grow. Not AC Milan Material. Keith 🇲🇹
Is moncada even slightly capable of going for a player we actually need to improve the squad? Like whatsoever? Buy a damn Striker who can score, a DM, and a RB who isn’t emerson
You’re asking for too much here. Moncada can get us another Emerson though.
Conceicoa has been good at picking his own unknown striker and turn then into a star and gaol machine. he does that many times at Porto.
Check the list of strikers in his time at porto
Moncada just needs to go away at this point.
Juventus was Tomori, ACM need an attacker and Juventus wanna get rid of Vlahovic.
Swap deal?
We need then to get a decent Tomori backup, but good DC´s seems to be more available than strikers.
Stop making things up. His value is €10 million according to transfermarket. €11 million is the highest fee Nurnberg have ever received for a player. He is not going to be sold for €20 million.
“He is not going to be sold for €20 million.”
I hope he is not going to be sold to us.
LOL
Because clubs value their players based on transfermakt
Players are worth, whatever clubs are prepared to pay for them…