Competition, commissions and caution: Milan’s striker search descends into farce | OneFootball

AC Milan’s pursuit of a new striker is at risk of turning from an intriguing soap opera into a frustrating farce as targets continue to come and go.

As our colleagues at SempreMilan.it write, the Milan directors have known for some time now – months rather than days or weeks – that they needed to sign a new starting striker to replace Olivier Giroud this summer, and yet any pre-planning is yet to yield any desired reports.

The name that has so far been linked most concretely was Joshua Zirkzee and we can confirm that he was the number one target for the entire mercato. It was a negotiation that begun some time ago, progressed quickly but then came to a brutal halt due to the huge commissions demanded by his agent.

According to what our sources in Bologna state, Manchester United have overtaken Milan in the race for the Dutchman, getting themselves in pole position for the Dutch striker. The Red Devils would in fact have no problem satisfying Kia Joorabchian’s requests, given their vast resources.

However, it still seems premature to talk about Zirkzee – who is still busy with the Dutch national team at the European Championships and wants time to decide – as a vanished objective. Nonetheless, alternatives are naturally being probed and are vanishing.

Guirassy goes, Demirovic disappears, Sesko stays

Serhou Guirassy scored 28 goals in 28 games in the Bundesliga last season, and he will leave Stuttgart to join Borussia Dortmund. It is potentially real bargain for the Champions League runners-up who will acquire the Guinean by paying only the €17.5m release clause in his contract.

Milan made a move for Guirassy last January, but the 28-year-old refused, reluctant to leave Stuttgart mid-season. Despite the negotiations carried out with his agent this summer, Milan backtracked due to the increased costs related to his salary and commissions. BVB were happy to pay it.

The player who will replace Guirassy at Stuttgart is another player who has been linked to Milan in recent weeks: Ermedin Demirovic. The Bosnian striker will leave Augsburg, where he scored 15 goals and 10 assists last season, to strengthen the squad of another Bundesliga club.

Demirovic was one of Milan’s possible back-up plans in the event that Zirkzee didn’t arrive, and we reported that Paulo Fonseca gave his approval. It was an operation worth around €20m that the Diavolo passed up on to continue their pursuit of the Bologna star, who costs double.

Benjamin Sesko was the name who emerged a couple of months ago as a rival to Zirkzee. The 20-year-old Slovenian was courted by Geoffrey Moncada already at the beginning of 2024, but in this case the difference was made by the resistance of his current club to sell him.

In fact, RB Leipzig refused to sit at any negotiating table, even when Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea were after him, instead proposing Sesko a contract renewal until 2029 with a significant salary increase attached.

Viktor Gyokeres was also linked with Milan by various sources, and yet it seemed like an unreachable dream. The Swedish international plies his trade at Sporting CP with whom he scored a whopping 43 goals last season and added 15 assists in 50 games.

Due to this incredible form his market value has seen a surge, pushing his price tag to €100m or more. Chelsea and Arsenal are now the teams that are being mentioned, with the Premier League seemingly in his destiny.

The last ones standing

If Zirkzee were to end up at United, there is a risk that Milan could end up having to accelerate for a striker that was not near the top of their list going into the summer, like Jonathan David or Romelu Lukaku. Even then, these are two very different profiles.

However, as far as we know, Milan have never entered into any negotiations with the agent of Lukaku. The rumours that he would be the new face of the Rossoneri attack for next season are therefore not credible.

The reasons are pretty obvious: the player’s age (31 years old), his salary (€12m net per season at Chelsea), as well as Chelsea’s decision not to let him go on loan anymore which means a permanent deal is needed.

Not only that, but it feels like it could potentially be a lazy link by the media because Lukaku is a striker with the opposite characteristics to Zirkzee, something which Hernan Crespo spoke in more detail about earlier today.

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On the other hand, Jonathan David fits at least partially with Zirkzee’s characteristics, while in terms of the economic aspect of the deal he would be the most accessible purchase of the centre-forwards that are still available.

The Canadian striker is valued at around €30m by Lille given he has a year left on his deal, while they are a club that Milan are on good terms with after the Rafael Leao, Tiago Djalo and Mike Maignan operations.

Not only that, but there is another obvious connection: Paulo Fonseca knows the Canadian forward having coached him in each of the last two seasons, seasons in which he scored 52 goals combined (26 in each).

For these reasons – and there could always be twists – if Milan are unable to land Zirkzee, they are more likely to turn to David, ending a long-standing admiration with what could be an ideal marriage.