GOOD NEWS: The Slovenian Star who Could Replace LAFC-Bound Giroud.
Milan fans expect positive action in response to Inter’s 20th Serie A title before the season is even over. As plumes of blue and black smoke intoxicate the city, technical director Geoffrey Moncada faces rising pressure to find a world-class successor for striker Olivier Giroud.
Despite an uneven 2023-24 season, Giroud scored the most league goals (14) throughout his three-year spell, a career high since 2015-16 at Arsenal (16). He could add to it before moving to Major League Soccer’s LAFC.
An evergreen heir to Zlatan Ibrahimović, the 37-year-old made an immediate impact when he arrived in 2020, helping the much-maligned Stefano Pioli deliver Il Diavolo its first Serie A title in nine years. In spite of his age, the Frenchman produced 26 goal involvements in all competitions this term, leaving Moncada with huge boots to fill.
RB Leipzig hitman Benjamin Šeško could be that boot-filler. Valued at $43 million, according to Transfermarkt, the Slovenian has already scored 11 goals for his country at senior level and 28 more throughout the past two domestic seasons – all of this at only 20 years of age.
Šeško’s 195cm height makes him a suitable alternative for Giroud, who excelled at ground level and posed a continuous aerial threat.
Šeško, who weighs 85 kilos and resembles Gianluca Scamacca, has a contract with Leipzig until 2028. Milan supporters may envision quick pairings with Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Noah Okafor, and Samuel Chukwueze.
Šeško’s pace and mobility are superior to Giroud’s on the counterattack – a tactic used by The Red Bulls against big teams throughout the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and in the German Bundesliga where Šeško netted against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Joshua Zirkzee is another candidate to take the reins. The 22-year-old’s breakout season (11 goals, 4 assists) at Bologna FC has fuelled hopes that he and Rossoblù manager Thiago Motta are a two-birds-one-stone solution.
Motta’s magical spell in Emilia Romagna transformed Bologna from perennial relegation candidates to Champions League material. If he can revitalise Riccardo Orsolini and Remo Freuler, imagine what he can do at the Milanello.
Zirkzee’s ascendancy is admirable, discarded by parent club Bayern Munich who sent him out to Parma (before their demotion to Serie B) and then Anderlecht. The latter loan spell caught Bologna’s eye in 2022, a bargain $9 million fee in hindsight, seen as a gamble at the time.
Who Is The Best Fit?
Adjusting to a big-club mentality may be viewed as a stumbling block for Zirkzee who has five scoreless UEFA club competition appearances compared to Šeško’s two UCL goals in 23 matches.
Moreover, Šeško knows what it feels like to win trophies, having taken RB Salzburg to three Austrian Bundesliga titles before his move up the Red Bull food chain. Yet, seemingly moving skyward, it’s too early to be presumptuous.
Lessons can be learned from current Milan attacker Luka Jović – proof that preconceived notions do not necessarily pan out for the best. The Serbian won trophies in Germany en route to accumulating two more at Real Madrid. Los Blancos shelled out $67 million for his services after 36 goals at Eintracht Frankfurt by the age of 21.
Jović never adapted to the spotlight and scored just three times ($22M per goal) over three seasons in Madrid, a cautionary tale that starlets can peak too soon. Milan would have to pay a similar fee for Šeško while Zirkzee is the cheaper option at around $55 million. The signature of either player could break Milan’s $53.3 million transfer record set in 2019 when Leao was bought from Lille.
The Fans Are Disgruntled
Milan fans believe European pedigree is in their DNA, a somewhat veracious claim if we rewind the clock to the Carlo Ancelotti and Arrigo Sacchi eras. Realistically, the club missed seven consecutive years of UCL football until the resurgence of 2021.
GET RELATED CONTENTS ON: BLACKSPORTNEWS.CO.UK