AC Milan’s play is to complete the attacking department with the signing of Mehdi Taremi from FC Porto in the final few days of the transfer window, but it is an operation that has pluses and negatives.
Tuttosport (via PianetaMilan) confirms that it is a live negotiation between the Milan management and their Portuguese counterparts over Taremi, while they weigh up the positive and negative aspects of the deal.
Pros: Olivier Giroud turns 37 next month and thus his work rate needs to be managed, so Taremi could help him get the rest he needs and he would be a co-starter given his quality and experience.
He knows the Champions League well, has a fantastic scoring record for Porto and he could help against sides playing a deep block given the variety of ways he can score goals, while Noah Okafor or Lorenzo Colombo might not be as ready to contribute.
Cons: Taremi is already 31 years old and Porto are asking for a significant amount to let him go, despite the fact he has a contract expiring in 2024. It would be a sizeable investment that could erode funds that would be used to sign a younger striker next summer.
Then there is the impact it might have on Okafor. With Giroud and Taremi in the middle, Pulisic and Chukwueze on the right (plus Luka Romero), the Swiss international would become the third option as a striker and would be Leao’s deputy. Could that be too little playing time for a forward with such potential?
Okafor is not a CF. Unfortunately we will not get the best out of him there. Okafor needs to play as a backup for Leao.
Pulisic, Chukwueze and Romero on the RW. So we definitely need Taremi in the team to give Giroud a break.
For those who want to talk about Colombo. The bottomline is that he’s not ready and needs to go on loan to continue his development. He will not get enough playing time at Milan as he would be considered 3rd choice behind Giroud and Okafor.
My question is, if Taremi can possibly join Milan and get a starting sport bar rotating with Giroud. Why can’t Pioli do the same for Colombon, also when you say he is not ready, what do you mean? I believe that there’s no better opportunity for Colombo to play as a second or third choice striker if it is not this season and he will have better support from players behind him in Milan than in any other serie a team, especially that he will not be going to any of the big five teams.
Maybe because Colombo really isn’t that good. My guess.
💯💯. I have been saying this as well.
Get this deal done. Too late in market to worry about “too expensive for age” – should have thought of that months ago when market opened. Waited too long, not many options left. We need a capable experienced backup if/when Giroud goes down or just needs rest.
#Depth
You need experience upfront and 31 isn’t that old for a striker. Would this article be published if we signed Lukaku at 30? Probably not. We can’t rely on a 20 year old and 37 year old the entire season.
Well said, mate. Most didn’t expect Giroud to do well when he came, but, even at almost 37, he is still getting the goals, and also helping in defending. Messi, C. Ronaldo, are still out there giving their money’s worth. 31, is not too old. It’s up to the coach to bring out the best in him. Okafor will fight for his place in the team, and, if he does well enough, he will get it. Thiago Silva sat on the bench for weeks, watching Nesta, Maldini, play. But, he learned from watching. If they all work together, it won’t matter who starts. As long as the team gets the results, that’s what is paramount.
No need to sign young striker next summer. Camarda will join the first team in a year or two. Giroud and Taremi can mentor him.
Giroud might retire before that happen, but I personally want him to stay and win with us for as long as possible.
They are extending Giroud so it is likely Giroud can mentor Camarda for a year.
Signing Taremi might prove to be a smart move, kind of similar to signing Giroud a few years ago. He has the CV, skills, and a proven scoring record, he can successfully replace Olivier when eventually he goes away (possibly next summer?) and also fills his role of mentoring younger strikers eg Colombo.
It is going to be tough negotiations to bring the asking price as low as possible given only 1year of contract is left; tbh this is going to be a good indication if the management team wants to overspend and build ahead of schedule.
(my two cents on Okafor, he may well be lined as Leao’s direct replacement should we get a hefty sale offer in the next few years or so)
31 years old that not proven in the top three European leagues for just under €20 million, that’s very expensive and bad business strategy. Also, Taremi is no way near the quality of Giroud. Let’s hope he delivers if he joins.
While I agree 20M seems high with only 1 year left on his deal, I would disagree with you that he is not proven. Porto has done very well in champions league in recent years and his frequent goal scoring is a huge reason why. He also scored multiple goals in World Cup for Iran. He is a very skilled and intelligent player and has done it against top teams from the top 5 leagues in Champions League play.
And I don’t think Giroud is THAT much better than he is; but even so, while Giroud is better — Giroud is an all time player! He is the all time leading scorer for the French National team and has won Champions League, Scudetto, Premier League, FA Cup, world cup, Euro — to compare a player to Giroud and say he’s not as good, he can still be a very good player (which Taremi is).
Taremi is very good. Sure, Giroud is better, but Giroud is 6 years older than Taremi and much closer to retirement; also, Giroud plays all over the field and he can’t manage this workload on his own for the entire season. I love Giroud’s attitude, work ethic, passion for Milan and for the tifosi, good mastery of Italian; Giroud is a class act, and yes, an all-time great. However like you said so well, Taremi is very good. He is a proven finisher. He has done well against top competition in the UCL and World Cup. I really hope we sign him although I think we won’t. An agreement with Porto doesn’t seem to be coming. Too bad. But then, maybe he will join in January at a discounted price, or for free in July.
Colombo isn’t ready from an experience standpoint. This isn’t just “be a 2nd or 3rd striker and barely play” — we are looking for someone who MUST be a real contributor at that position. Look at Inter last year with Lautaro and Dzeko starting most matches but then Lukaku would sub in very early 2nd half for Dzeko and Correa subbed in for Lautaro and all 4 of those strikers were productive with goals and assists. We need another striker besides Giroud who we can count on and we have CL and Serie A. That’s a lot of matches/minutes and Giroud is 37. We can’t turn to a young Colombo for that. We should loan him out to Monza so he gets more minutes and experience. And if he does well and shows us he IS ready, then we can plug him into the lineup in future.
Taremi is currently way, way, way better than Colombo. Sure, Colombo has potential but he is still too green and not as versatile in the box as Taremi. I hope Colombo gets loaned out to Monza and Taremi joins. I am not optimistic, the way the negotiations are going.
If we don’t get Taremi (or the young Greek kid Pavlidis from AZ), then I think a better solution than Colombo is to play Pulisic centrally. He has played centrally for the USMNT quite a lot and enjoys it there more than playing on the wing (he has said it himself) and that would give more minutes/opportunities for the super talented Chukwueze at the RW spot (and give Giroud much-needed rest).
Why Pulisic over Okafor?