Milan and Napoli Liven Up the Strikers’ Carousel | OneFootball

Atalanta kicked off a late domino of strikers in Serie A that will reshape a few frontlines, while Milan and Napoli have zeroed in on their preferred options. After tracking multiple men throughout the summer, the Rossoneri went back to a dated idea and are very close to landing Victor Boniface, Gianluca Di Marzio reports.

The deal is in its late stages. The two teams have agreed to a season-long loan with €20M option to buy. The Italian side will host his agent on Thursday to iron out his personal terms. They have chased after him in previous years but didn’t manage to onboard him.

Milan have moved on from Rasmus Hojlund, at least for now, because he wants a permanent transfer, and Napoli are attempting to onboard him now. He’s their main target to replace Romelu Lukaku, but they will probe a temporary formula at first as well. Artem Dovbyk lingers on their radar as a fullback plan.

The Rossoneri don’t rule out adding one further attacker. Noah Okafor is headed to Leeds United for about €21M. His roster spot could be filled by Conrad Harder. He carved out an okay role for himself behind Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting CP last year and could be on the move on an initial loan.

In the meantime, another quality forward is switching sides. Fiorentina have put their hands on Roberto Piccoli, who’s coming off a career year at Cagliari, for about €25M. He joins Moise Kean and Edin Dzeko in the Viola’s new-look attack, while Lucas Beltran will most likely leave.

Our Take on Milan and Napoli

There are some big question marks, especially injury-related, about Boniface, or he wouldn’t be available at an affordable price. However, they might have stumbled upon a sound solution. He complements their other offensive weapons well stylistically. They should have paid more attention to that from the get-go rather than looking for the best possible bargain. If the plan is to use 3-5-2 more often than not, another striker wouldn’t hurt. However, the main focus should be on purchasing another reliable defender, as four aren’t enough.

As for the Partenopei, Hojlund would be a high-profile reclamation project and would bring to the table something different than Lorenzo Lucca. It’s clear that he doesn’t want to face the risk of heading back to Manchester United in 12 months. They’ll probably have an easier time meeting the request than other suitors, as he’d mesh well with Romelu Lukaku too eventually. Though, they have already invested a lot up front and have to weigh that against bolstering other positions. He’s worth at least an in-depth inquiry since he’s very available, but recent history suggests that Antonio Conte prefers a different type of strikers. Still, he’s 22 and has the raw physique to potentially become a hoss with some work.

The Big Remaining Dominos

Vlahovic

Milan landing a marksman isn’t great news for Juventus, as they were the most credible destination for Dusan Vlahovic, and they’ll be hoping somehow Napoli or some other team take a look at him. He has some history with their director. The two outfits reportedly pondered a blockbuster swap early in the summer. There’s still a chance he’ll go to San Siro, since Boniface is joining for relatively cheap, and they might opt for a brace, but those chances are dwindling. Despite the Bianconeri’s hand-wringing about signing Randal Kolo Muani anyway, it’s not a coincidence that it hasn’t happened yet. The main hurdle for it is still there. They could easily get out of their commitment by leaking that he’s too expensive, which is true. Containing the loss on the sale of Douglas Luiz is a nice achievement, but it only covers half of the price of the Frenchman.

Dovbyk

It’s blatant that Roma wish to offload Dovbyk to bring in a more energetic and complete striker. However, they have to pay more attention to the bottom line than other sides, and they shelled out a significant sum for him last year. They’ll need a stroke of luck to find a solution. They might be better off trying to see whether Gian Piero Gasperini can find a way to get him going and exploit him to the best of his capabilities.

Mateo Retegui had shown some promise, but wasn’t a world beater before moving to Atalanta. The same goes for other center-forwards he worked with in the past. Conte might rubber-stamp his arrival solely because of his caliber if there’s nothing better, but he wouldn’t be a great choice for the Azzurri. They heavily rely on their no.9 for a lot more than just goal poaching. That’s where he has struggled during his time in the Italian capital. Plus, he has rarely looked totally right physically and completely engaged.

Lookman

There’s no solution in sight for this saga yet. has reported back but won’t train with the rest of the group until the window ends. It’d be very odd if Atalanta kept him without a reconciliation. Stranger things have happened, but his words and actions were quite definitive. The situation might be headed for something similar to what occurred with Victor Osimhen last year, when a destination emerged out of the blue well past the 11th hour. They have already satiated their balance sheets with one giant sale, and he has multiple years on his contract. Without a good enough bid, they might agree to let him go abroad on an initial loan and cash in next year rather than having this dark cloud of malaise looming over them all season.