AC Milan can finally replace Olivier Giroud and Luka Jovic by signing three established great strikers.
AC Milan made some controversial choices in the last summer transfer window to usher in the new RedBird era, but many of them have proven beneficial to the club. After a poor start to the season, Milan has surged ahead of Juventus to second place in Serie A, and while they will never catch crosstown rivals Inter Milan for the Scudetto this season, they have a good chance of achieving so in 2024/25 with the appropriate market approach.
The Rossoneri’s top goal will be to sign a new defense to complement superstars Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez, and Fikayo Tomori, but they must also consider the striker position. New additions Samuel Chukwueze and Christian Pulisic have firmly established themselves on the right wing opposite former Serie A MVP Rafael Leao, while Olivier Giroud has shown to be one of Europe’s top all-around forwards, contributing over 20 goals.
Giroud, meanwhile, is nearing the age of 38 and may leave for the MLS this summer. His backup, summer signing Luka Jovic, is a non-factor and a clear prospect to leave Milan at the end of the season. Here are three established star players who can jump in and start games at a high level if AC Milan needs to replace Giroud and Jovic this summer.
Jonathan David, Lille Jonathan David surprisingly stayed at Lille this summer and did not garner nearly as much transfer interest as predicted, despite a real breakout 2022/23 season in which he demonstrated levels of all-around play far superior to his inconsistent 2021/22 campaign.
After a sluggish start to the season, the Lille star has stepped up and set an example for Les Dogue as they attempt to secure Champions League participation. The Canadian striker has 16 goals and is one of the most fouled attackers in European football, effectively using his enormous size to fend off defenders and create space for teammates. At 24, David is still in his prime, and he will only improve if he has the opportunity to work with Tijani Reijnders, Yacine Adli, Leao, Pulisic, and Chukwueze at Milan.
Borja Mayoral of Getafe Borja Mayoral was a Serie A star on loan from Real Madrid to Roma, and he has since established himself in Madrid with Getafe, a smaller team. Mayoral, one of the best strikers Real Madrid has ever seen at the youth level, never took off in the Spanish capital despite receiving Zinedine Zidane’s implicit backing, most likely because Karim Benzema was too incredible to be replaced.
It tells something that Zidane never hesitated to proclaim Mayoral superiority over Luka Jovic, despite the fact that Real Madrid paid 60 million euros to sign the Serbian international from Eintracht Frankfurt.
AC Milan might potentially do the same, replacing Jovic with Mayoral. The Getafe star is definitely one of the finest attackers in LaLiga right now, with 15 goals to put him on the same level as Artem Dovbyk while playing for a far poorer team than Girona. Mayoral should be even cheaper than David, and while he is a few years older than 27, he is still in his peak at that age and has proven to be injury resistant. Niklas Fullkrug, Dortmund.
Another resilient, well-rounded, and proven star striker in the prime of his career, Niclas Fullkurg, may not have been a more popular signing for Borussia Dortmund than more center back help, but perhaps Edin Terzic got this one right despite disappointing fans by not playing top prospect Youssoufa Moukoko.
Dortmund may be in even worse shape without Fullkrug, who has improved his game as a provider in the absence of Marvin Ducksch at Werder Bremen, becoming just as important an anchor for Die Schwarzgelben as he was earlier in the Bundesliga season. Fullkrug currently has 11 goals and 8 assists, making him perhaps the finest German striker. The 31-year-old was undeniably the finest striker in the country during the 2022/23 season in Bremen, scoring 16 goals and providing 5 assists.