AC Milan are big admirers of Joshua Zirkzee and will try to land him this summer, but they are also having to look into potential alternatives too.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) confirms that the Milan management want to try and sign Zirkzee as their No.9 for the future but the economic hurdles to overcome are obvious.
Therefore, Geoffrey Moncada and co. are keeping their options open. They are also looking at Santiago Gimenez who has scored 19 goals in 19 games in the current Eredivisie season with Feyenoord.
In the Champions League he scored twice against Lazio, which the Milan scouts will have seen. The Mexican is quick in the area, a good finisher and at 22 years of age he has the potential to improve, with a summer move virtually certain.
Jonathan David is a long-standing target for the Rossoneri and should not be forgotten, while among the other young players that are being monitored is Viktor Gyökeres.
The 25-year-old moved from Coventry City to Sporting CP in the summer and while he doesn’t have the CV of a great striker, he already has 13 goals in the league and three in the Europa League.
Benjamin Sesko is a top candidate too and Milan like him more than anyone: he has physique, is clinical and he scores goals. Of course, it’s not easy to sign him either but an investment is ready.
Who would be the best fit? We profiled various strikers that Milan have been linked with in a recent feature.
From these Gyokeres is the best one. However he is expensive and Milan can’t buy him. Sesko is a long-term investment. He has the technical potential to become a top quality striker, but only gradually. He would not be able to immediately replace Giroud. David does not perform well in high levels, he mostly has penalties and easy goals against weak tems.
Gimenez too is expensive and like Gyokeres needs more time to prove himself that can score on a regular basis in the long term. Zirkzee is more suitable as a second striker or a winger. I would go with Sesko. From all these ones he has the most talent for a number 9, and his release clause is worth 50 million. He has all the technical capabilities to reach the level of Levandowski or Ibra. If the club decide to sacrifice short term for the benefit of mid term, in 2 years Sesko can become the striker Milan have not had since the good days of Ibra.
Gyökeres 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Let’s be honest, Sesko too expensive now we’ve missed the boat. Zirkzee may not be a 25 goal a season striker but he’s got excellent touch and has the size to play no.9 in our formation. He could be the perfect foil for Leao and/or Pulisic.
For me the best one for cost/age/style would be Gimenez. Yes the Dutch league is not the best but this guy even delivers in UCL. He’s got a great eye for goal. I’m not sure what Feyenoord would realistically sell for. Gimenez or Zirkzee would be good.
Sesko’s clause is 50 mln, and if Milan sell all their players currently on loan, they would be able to make 50 mln. Feyenoord have been reported to demand 70-80 mln for Gimenez. In any case, Gimenez is not cheaper than Sesko. Even for Zirkzee it has been claimed by Bologna that his 40 mln clause is only for Bayern, and others teams should pay more than that. Goykeres and Gimenez are certainly out of Milan’s reach in the foreseeable future.
Ah ok thanks… i didn’t realise Sesko had a release clause so low, is that common knowledge? If so yes that’s realistic assuming random EPL club doesn’t blow us out the water offering him crazy wages
Look at the goals Gimenez scores. Most of them are tap-ins in front of the empty net. And in Eredivisie! Huntelaar scored “hundreds” of goals there and in Italy? 2 or 3? That sums it up.
Gimenez and Gyokeres are the best choices but very expensive, I think Milan should go all in for one of them even if we won’t have any transfer budget left, Milan need a top striker.