There seems to be only one certainly for AC Milan in the centre-forward role which will continue beyond the current season, and he goes by the name of Olivier Giroud.
Our colleagues at SempreMilan.it have published a round-up of all the news regarding the striker position amid the expiring contract of Giroud, the lack of certainties offered by Luka Jovic, the players out on loan and talents to bet on for the future.
The evergreen veteran
Giroud has decided to extend his adventure with Milan. The French centre-forward, who has amassed seven goals and three assists in 14 matches so far this season, has reached an agreement with the Rossoneri for the renewal of his contract for another season.
The new agreement provides for a small reduction compared to the current €3.5m net salary that he receives and is good news for Milan, who confirm their desire to focus on a mix of youngsters and veterans to continue competing at high levels in Italy and Europe.
The 37-year-old, who has already won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the World Cup, is still hungry for success and wants to give the Rossoneri club its fans further satisfaction.
Giroud arrived on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer of 2021, has proven to be a fundamental element in Stefano Pioli’s tactical plans, both as a starter and as an alternative to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in past seasons.
The returning loanee
With the renewal of Giroud, Milan will ensure the presence of a senator in the dressing room, a charismatic leader and a striker of experience and quality.
Giroud, however, will no longer be a permanent starter in the XI week-in week-out because of his age. He will share the task with Lorenzo Colombo – who will return from his loan at Monza but this time to remain with the Rossoneri – and a new signing.
Colombo netted a match-winning brace for Monza at the weekend and has three league goals for the season, showing that the loans he has been on have helped him mature. Giroud will have a more marginal position next season therefore.
The new starter
Who will join the aforementioned duo? Some of the names that come up most often are those of Jonathan David and Serhou Guirassy, both French-speaking strikers who play in foreign leagues, specifically Ligue 1 and Bundesliga.
The former has struggled so far in 2023-24 with just four goals and two assists in 16 appearances in all competitions with Lille, having scored 24 times in the league alone last season.
The latter is Stuttgart’s top scorer with 14 goals in eight league games, leaving himbehind only Harry Kane in the Bundesliga scoring charts, and he has a release clause that allows him to leave Germany as early as January for a sum of less than €30m.
Read also: 2025 FIFA Club World Cup – How it works, the prize money and what Milan need to qualify
Milan have already started negotiations with both players and their respective clubs, but it will not be easy to reach a positive conclusion because Lille want €40m for David amid poor form and Stuttgart would like to keep Guirassy at least until June, when they could receive higher offers from other interested teams or might have bought themselves time to extend/amend his deal.
Another name on Geoffrey Moncada and Antonio D’Ottavio’s list is Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna, a player who Rafael Leao also likes a lot.
The future talent
The management have not lost sight of the future either as they have Matija Popovic on their wish list, a Serbian prodigy who is generating interest from top European clubs. His contract expires in December with Partizan Belgrade and he is in the sights of the Rossoneri, who have already had a decisive meeting in Milan with his entourage.
Popovic is considered one of the best talents in world football, capable of covering various roles in attack such as attacking midfielder, striker or left winger. The young Serbian has good technical skills given his physical size (193cm), while he has netted 21 goals in 25 matches for Partizan’s youth team.
This piqued the interest of clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid but Milan, however, moved before them with determination to try land the teenager transfer.
According to the latest reports, the Rossoneri have reached an agreement with the player for a five-year contract, with a salary of €500k per season. The transfer could be made official as early as January, when Popovic turns 18 and can be signed by Milan.
This would not be such a pressing issue if they had not f%&$@d up the Thuram deal.
Most of the fans here were glad we didn’t get Thuram. I admit I was sceptic too. But this time I’m not wrong: David isn’t good enough for Milan. He’s not the answer we’re looking for.
We should not delude ourselves that Giroud can give us one more season, sure enough he pops up once in a while to score a goal, but if we want to win trophies, major trophies, we need a consistent, very technical and high calibre striker, who can hold the ball, move with it, and create chances, Giroud is not consistent enough, and technically efficient , just look at what Harry Kane or Thurman or Haaland are doing for their clubs.
Giroud won’t be the main striker next year. He’ll be the reserve one.
If they haven’t messed up the striker issue in general. Thuram doesn’t necessarily excite me. The cat and mouse game he played with us still irritates. We are better off without his displaced loyalties.
I’d be spending money on Zirkzee.
He’s an all rounder. He’s about 190cm, he’s got speed and seems to have significant technical ability. His hold up play is solid and he can scrap.
He’s also already playing Serie A under a very good and very demanding coach and scoring.
He’s actually capable of leading the line until Camarda or maybe Popovic is ready, unlike David.
We really need to stop jerking around with the number 9. We’ve got to get it right to be good and also to help integrate Camarda, which should be a factor if he is as good as he appears to be.
If the #9 is still a problem when Camarda is 18 all of the sudden it falls to him to do the job. That pressure and expectation is a big part of the reason Italian talents are not developing as they should be. He needs the freedom to develop and take the spot when he’s ready.