GdS: Gyokeres, Sesko, investments and regret – the lessons from Milan’s striker pursuit | OneFootball

AC Milan once again made the decision during the summer to not make a big financial investment (in terms of transfer fee) in a striker, and may have some regrets.

La Gazzetta dello Sport have returned to the game against Genoa on Sunday night, recalling how Milan spurned several big chances to win the match and probably avoid – or at least delay – the climate of protest we are now seeing.

While Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata failed to find the back of the net with shots from good positions, Victor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko continue to light up Sporting CP and RB Leipzig. The relevance? They are two players Milan strongly evaluated.

The post-Genoa protest revolves around the concept of mediocrity. It is a challenging at the modus operandi of a club that has been trying to follow a financially-driven line for years but penny pinch when it comes to signing the most important player: a striker.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived in 2019 on a free, Olivier Giroud came for €1m plus €1m in bonuses and Alvaro Morata joined for €13m. The common theme: profiles over 30 years of agent who marry well with the concept of minimum effort, maximum yield.

The Frenchman always scored double figures, but then left a void after three years. The fans were asking for an investment and it seems that Sesko, Gyokeres and Joshua Zirkzee were all followed closely. Yet, when the time came to push the boat out, they remained on the shoreline.

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How close did things come? There was a meeting with Sesko’s agent at Casa Milan during the Maldini-Massara era. At least one other meeting took place with the current management. RB Leipzig convinced him to renew in June, but with an offer of €60m Milan could have got him.

Gyokeres was less approachable than Sesko, thanks to the monstrous clause of €100m in his Sporting deal, but here too lies a lesson. Geoffrey Moncada has appreciated him for years, Ibrahimovic was his big endorser, though when it was realised how string he is it was too late.

Morata and Abraham have scored 10 goals between them in all competitions to date. The same as Sesko, but not even half as many as Gyokeres, with 26 goals, which rises to a ridiculous 109 in the last four years.

Looking at their performance today, Sesko and Gyokeres are worth much more than the €60m that Milan could have spent. It’s called an investment because while there is a certain amount of risk in spending a lot, the idea is that it is repaid with goals, sporting success and possibly a bigger fee down the line.