AC Milan’s strikers have struggled to score consistently this season. Well, all but one: Andrej Kostic, who will arrive in the summer.
La Gazzetta dello Sport speak about a number nine, owned by Milan, playing in Belgrade, who has even reached double figures for league goals this season. His last goal was less than a month ago, on April 18th, and it was a winner.
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At the end of March, Kostic became Milan’s first official signing for the 2026-27 season for €3m. Born in 2007 in Montenegro, he’s someone in Serbia they compare to Dusan Vlahovic (they have the same agent) and his scoring record is impressive.
After Lamine Yamal, Kostic is the U21 player with the highest goals and assists per 90 ratio in the world’s 50 major leagues (considering those with at least 720 minutes played). In short, Milan seem to have made a good selection.
A future marksman
In his first full season as a pro with Partizan Belgrade, Kostic has played 39 games so far, scoring 12 goals and providing one assist. Among U21 players in the top 50 leagues – with at least 720 minutes played – he ranks third in goal participation with 0.92.
In practice, nearly one goal per game comes from his feet. Ahead of him are Lamine Yamal (1.01) and Matviy Ponomarenko of Dynamo Kyiv (1.07). Also in the top ten is Can Uzun, best friends with Kenan Yildiz, the Eintracht Frankfurt starlet and a hot name for the upcoming transfer window.
Milan have been following Kostic for some time. He’ll join Milan Futuro in July, but Massimiliano Allegri will likely keep a close eye on him, especially given the dreadful period his current attack are experiencing.
Kostic is a physical (188 cm), technically gifted, but somewhat atypical centre-forward. Besides being a focal point, he’s also good at linking the play. A bit like Harry Kane in profile, albeit with a lot more rough edges to round out, as is expected given he is a teenager.
This year, Kostic has been on a tear. He’s started 11 of 28 league games, but in his first eight appearances, he scored six goals. Hence, the label of ‘the new Vlahovic’. At the end of April, Red Star won yet another Serbian title, beating Partizan 3-0.
Kostic came on for the final 20 minutes of a Marakana match that was terrifying, with its chants and choreography. In short, large stadiums and heated atmospheres don’t scare him. He also already had a taste of Italy last September, when he scored against the Azzurri U21 team in La Spezia.
Mirko Vucinic holds him in high regard and gave him his debut for the senior national team in the World Cup qualifiers in October. One of his best friends is Milan Roganovic, his team-mate at Partizan. In a couple of months, they’ll have to part ways, but Milan will remain at the center of Kostic’s life.
I believe this boy
Based on what?
I watched some of his skills he surprised me
YouTube is a little different to the real life experience of being loaned out x 5 in 5 years and quietly sold on.
I don’t mean to be cynical but that is the last (what?) 50 “prospects”.
I didn’t say I have watched him from YouTube
Hope he will play senior football???? Not to be sent to the junior team. Please start him asap, even if he is 17.
Of course Kostic will solve all our attacking issues with Allegri’s pattern of offensive play.
He is 19 and he will most likely start with the Futuro and then will either be 3rd or 4rth in the pecking order or after half a year getting loaned out to Serie A or B.
Personally I think he looks like an interesting prospect and certainly came at a favorable fee.
For the reasons in your first sentence the chances of him reaching his potential are vanishingly small.
The Futuro is not a serious endeavour. At 3rd or 4th in the pecking order he’ll rarely play. And loans almost never work.
I’m defintely against throwing him down to the Futuro because he has already played a lot of Serbian first league and CL matches and some international matches for Montenegro but even under the Primavera a player like Kalulu pretty much played there for some months before he started getting chosen for the first team. If this happens and it only is a 3-4 month duration it could make sense but personally i would loan him out for next season to a team where he would directly slot in. I nevertheless think he could come good for us and its not like that when we bought Boban that he wasn’t also loaned out to Bari for one year and that at an older age.
He seems like a talent that could and will succeed somewhere if that is at Milan only time will tell.
I’ve got little fate in the futuro, it seems to be harder to break through with it than without it, If he is not to come in and play as a rotational player I think the best option is to extend his loan for another year and let him continue where he is
I dont like the idea of sending him down there either but as long its only for him to settling in then I can live with it. A loan would be prefered but loaning him back to Partizan probably wouldn’t make sense as they have other young attackers they can develope and sell so I wouldn’t see that as an ideal situation.
Boy, you better go learn how to defend, that’s what will earn you a place in this defensive team.
All those numbers of yours don’t count here.
Defensive goalkeeper 😂
Defensive defenders 😂
Defensive wingbacks 😂
Defensive midfielders 😂
Defensive strikers 😂
Defensive coach 😂
Defensive Ac Milan 😂
Second star is a mirage.
Milan which way to go???
He is already a player who has shown grit in how he plays. Yes definitely also at a lower level but he doesn’t shy away from dropping down or recoupering lost balls.
Either way all players should be able to contribute in all phases of the game EVEN if they has their preferred areas in the game. I really doesn’t understand why not all people can see that a stronger unit is based on exactly that. Roman legion filosphy was basically if one didn’t follow the formation and tactics all would risk falling.
Perfect.
Ac Defensive Strategy… even Berlusconi was vocally against this approach especially our best attacking players from defending.
I think it was still this same Allegri that Berlusconi was criticising for asking Ronaldinho to defend.
All the top teams in the world, you will never see their best attacking players forced to defend, the game has evolved way past that.
All phases of the game is equally important but that doesnt mean some players should be allowed to slack off either. F’ing unprofresional attitude if some players think they are above the collective,
The writer of this article tried so hard to sell the idea of the kid being a great player. Very unnecessary statistics and pointless comparisons (just throwing proven names about). Allow the kid grow, don’t make him out to be what he isn’t yet.
Don’t use the media and try to convince us to like the kid, let him come and do that by actions and result.