AC Milan are looking for a new striker to strengthen the attacking department in view of the second part of the season and it seems that Akor Adams of Montpellier is now the main target.
Adams plays predominantly as a centre-forward, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or winger. Coming from the Jamba Football Academy, in 2018 he moved to Norwegian side Sogndal, with whom he scored 16 goals in 56 games.
In 2022 he moved to Lillestrøm, where he scored 28 goals in 50 appearances, attracting interest from several European clubs. In 2023 he was purchased by Montpellier for €4.5m, becoming the most expensive new arrival in the history of the French club.
With Montpellier he has already scored seven goals in 12 Ligue 1 matches, confirming himself as one of the most prolific strikers in the league. With the Nigerian U20 national team he participated in the 2019 World Cup, playing two matches without scoring. His market value, according to Transfermarkt, is €8m.
Jonathan David meanwhile is probably better as a second striker or in a two-striker formation. Raised between the youth sectors of Ottawa Gloucester and Ottawa Internationals, in 2018 he was purchased by Gent, with whom he made his professional debut.
With the Belgian team he scored 37 goals in 83 league games, topping the scoring charts in the 2019-20 season. In 2020 he moved to Lille for €27.5m, becoming the most expensive signing in the history of the French club.
With the Lille shirt he won the 2020-21 league title and the 2021 French Super Cup, scoring 63 goals in 155 games. With the Canadian national team – of which he is the second best scorer ever – he participated in a World Cup (2022), a CONCACAF Gold Cup (2019) and two CONCACAF Nations League (2019-2020, 2022-2023). His market value, according to Transfermarkt, is €60m.
A new favourite
According to the latest from Calciomercato.com, Milan are now more likely to go for Akor Adams than Jonathan David, for several reasons. First of all, the cost of the Nigerian would be much lower than that of the Canadian, allowing the Rossoneri to save economic resources to invest in other departments.
Furthermore, Adams would be better suited to Milan’s game, which requires a physical striker who thrives as a solo number nine. Finally, Adams’ current performance is significantly better than that of his Lille colleague as he has seven league goals to David’s three.
For these reasons, Adams appears to be the favourite over David to become Milan’s new striker in January. The management, however, will have to face competition from other teams interested in the Nigerian.
