AC Milan achieved their mission of adding two strikers during the summer transfer window, and the feeling is that their production will dictate a big part of how Paulo Fonseca’s debut season goes.
As Tuttosport (via MilanNews) reports, the club made it clear they were not opting for a revolution in the mercato but there was one department that saw several changes, ones that were truly inevitable. Olivier Giroud left, with Alvaro Morata arriving after winning Euro 2024, joined by Tammy Abraham.
Alvaro and Tammy
The two No.9s that Milan have signed will not actually wear the shirt left vacant by Giroud: the Spaniard will have the number 7, while the Englishman will wear the number 90. Luka Jovic moved to take Giroud’s number.
The gist of it is the same: much of the fate of the Rossoneri’s season and the Portuguese coach’s time at Milan will depend on the performance of Morata and Abraham, and both have already given a taste of what they could bring to the team.
The former only played the last half hour against Torino but was fundamental in the comeback as he scored to make it 1-2, then the latter came on less than 24 hours after signing against Lazio and set up Rafael Leao to equalise.
Noah and Luka
The arrival of two new strikers also brings question marks about two players, starting with Noah Okafor. It is not a problem for the Swiss because he is more skilled on the wing or at most as a second striker.
In general, the former Salzburg man has always done well coming off the bench, during the game when more spaces have opened up for him to attack with late runs into the box. Starting as the only striker is far from his ideal scenario.
This is even more true for Jovic, the king of mid-game substitutions last season. However, the Serbian has shown himself to be less incisive as a lone centre-forward and much more efficient as a second striker.
It is no coincidence that, given the needs, he was the one sacrificed in the Champions League squad list. With Abraham and Morata in the squad, as well as Camarda in list B, it was much easier to sacrifice a third striker rather than one of the midfielders.