We might as well cut to the chase. While Kylian Mbappé officially announced himself in front of the Real Madrid faithful and Manchester United confirmed the signing of Joshua Zirkzee this week – the harsh reality sunk in further that Milan no longer possesses the gold and the pull to attract established world-class talent similar to Silvio Berlusconi’s prime-era.
Zirkzee, a standout performer for Thiago Motta’s historic Bologna, seemed destined to wear the Rossoneri colours until a large agent commission fee requested by Kia Joorabchian (upward of €15 million) forced Milan’s management to tilt their heads in a different direction.
Situated underneath the surface, could it be a blessing in disguise?
Despite an impressive first half of the season in 2023-24, the 23-year-old scored two goals in the remaining 12 games of the Serie A campaign. Yes, he is a bright prospect with many eye-catching attributes. Still, he failed to convince at Bayern Munich, was forced to wait on a last-minute withdrawal to be selected for the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 squad, is yet to perform at a big club with the substantial weight of pressure, and is not a proven winner.
Milan’s newest signing, Álvaro Morata, is the complete opposite and has no trouble ticking those boxes.
After Olivier Giroud finally broke the dreaded number nine curse, scepticism seems to be creeping in that Morata will not provide substance and efficiency similar to his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Torres.
Those who are fearful of a similar ending this time around should not be dismissed. The 31-year-old has never fully convinced to place his name among the world’s elite centre-forwards, with his mentality and goalscoring dry patches often at the centre of scrutiny throughout his career.
A section of supporters will ask why the club is not seeking either an established talent or a promising prospect with enormous upside. Having triggered the €13m release clause in Morata’s Atlético Madrid contract, prioritising the cheapest option instead of splashing the cash had the phrase ‘Oh no, not again,’ muttered all over the Milanese city.
For every new experience, there is a new opportunity to reach unforeseen heights in the right environment. One factor could open the door for that possibility to eventuate – confidence.
The quality and talent levels of Morata’s game are not to be questioned. Stints at Juventus, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Atlético Madrid surely point toward the Spaniard doing something right.
The main concern regarding his ability to tap into his full potential lies between the ears where we have seen the best and worst versions of Morata. At Chelsea during a forgettable spell where he could not find the back of the net no matter how hard he tried, there were calls for him to take a small break away from the game to refocus.
This was a complete contrast to helping Juventus to the 2015 Champions League final where everything he touched turned to gold, notably scoring a goal in the semi-final and final to announce himself on the European stage.
Although Morata had his fair share of hiccups, he finds himself in arguably the best headspace while brimming with confidence after captaining his nation to European Championship glory.
Influential figure Zlatan Ibrahimović was reportedly one of the key selling points for Morata to convince him that Milan was the right project to pursue under Paulo Fonseca – pointing to the prestige and what it means to play for the jersey.
To know that the board has Morata’s full backing must ignite another miniature fire in what is already shaping up to be an eagerly motivated and confident striker – not a sentence that could be highlighted all that often in the past.
“I am often happy [in Spain], but other times it is difficult for me,” Morata said in an interview with El Mundo earlier this month. “It is my personality, I am like that, it is difficult for me.
“When I get home I am always super happy, but in front of people, I feel as if I were naked, and maybe that has not allowed me to give everything. It is often very difficult to be in Spain.”
Now with a new lease on life in a country that has provided both himself and his young family a sense of stability and joyfulness – Morata could not have asked for a better surrounding to thrive.
He will add multiple dimensions to Milan’s attacking third that Giroud could not provide anymore at his age, including mobility, better link-up play, avoiding less isolation, and playing between the lines with pace also an asset to an extent.
At the end of the day, he will be judged solely on his goal contribution tally where he will need to settle in quickly before the honeymoon bubble quickly bursts. 21 goals last season for Atléti is a positive indication that he can replicate solid productivity for Milan, arriving with another season of experience and gained maturity under his belt.
Perhaps he will not be judged ‘solely’ on goals, but more importantly for the club hierarchy and fans – trophies. For as well-respected and admired of a servant that Giroud became, there is a lingering feeling that without a Scudetto to his name, the way he would have been looked upon and portrayed could quite easily have resulted in a different tone.
Shortly after completing his medical in Madrid, Morata admitted to Sky Italia: “I know I have the best years of my career ahead of me.”
That exact exuberant confidence is what he will need to succeed at a club craving long-term consistent fortunes with no room to hide if things happen to turn south.
He’s a more matured player than he once was and was captain of a Euro 2024 winning team.
He took a tremendous responsibility captaining the most powerful team and didn’t crack under the pressure. This isn’t the Morata from ten years ago.
It’s obvious he has developed immensely leadership wise. You see this with Atletico.
This is someone that could take the captain armband.
I certainly won’t judge him solely on goals, but he’ll be marked on how well the attacking unit links up. My hope is he gets the best out of PLC (going to make that a thing for Pulisic, Leao and Chukwueze).
Milan’s probably squad 24/25 :
GK: Maignan/Sportiello/Nava
RB: Calabria/Florenzi/Teracciano
CB: Thiaw/Kalulu/Gabbia/Pellegrino
CB: Pavlovic*/Tomori/Simic
LB: Theo/Jimenez
DM: Fofana*/Adli/Bennacer
CM: Reijnders/Pobega/Musah
CAM: Pulisic/RLC/Maldini
RW: Chukwueze/Saelemaeker/Romero
LW: Leao/Okafor/Traore
ST:Morata/Jovic/Colombo/Nasti/Camarda.
Its too crowded! Some of them need to offload! 🤣🤣🤣