Crespo: ‘Lukaku better suited to Milan than Zirkzee’ | OneFootball

Hernan Crespo explains why he believes Romelu Lukaku would be ‘more suited’ to the new Milan project under Paulo Fonseca than their other target, Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee.

The Argentine famously wore the jerseys of both Inter and Milan, as well as Parma and Lazio, in Serie A and is currently the coach of Al-Ain.

He spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport about the plans for the future at San Siro, where former Inter striker Lukaku is tipped as one of the prime candidates to join Milan this summer from Chelsea.

The other is Bologna forward Zirkzee, who has a €40m release clause in his contract, but the Rossoneri are refusing to pay the €15m commission to agent Kia Joorabchian out of principle.

“Zirkzee is a player for the future, whereas Lukaku seems more suited to the immediate situation,” said Crespo.

“To put it bluntly, the Dutchman has huge margin for improvement, while we already know the veteran’s qualities. Not all centre-forwards are the same, just like I was not similar to Gabriel Batistuta, which is why we could play together for Argentina.”

While Lukaku is a big centre-forward who holds up the ball, Zirkzee has quite a low scoring record and provides more assists.

“Zirkzee likes to drop deep and dialogue with his teammates, but also has strong physicality needed to protect the ball. Lukaku is more old-fashioned, not in a negative way, and is more of a battering ram. He is also deadly on the counter-attack and dictates the through ball to get the whole team moving.”

Crespo sees Lukaku fitting with Fonseca’s Milan

Milan will be under new coach Fonseca, replacing Stefano Pioli after almost five years, so we are yet to fully understand how they will approach the game now.

“The issue is that Milan need goals straight away and the fans at San Siro don’t have time to wait around,” continued Crespo.

“Zirkzee had a good season at Bologna with 11 goals, whereas Lukaku wasn’t that sharp at Roma, but if he’s in good shape physically, then he guarantees goals. I don’t know how Zirkzee would handle such a big club and stadium. Bologna is not Milan. Lukaku is more accustomed to that stage.

“If the wingers are Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao, then Lukaku is perfect to get on the end of their crosses. Zirkzee prefers to complete these triangles and dialogue with his teammates. Considering how Fonseca’s teams played in the past, perhaps the Belgian is better suited.”

Napoli are also pursuing Lukaku from Chelsea for Antonio Conte, while Manchester United are ready to pounce for Zirkzee.

“In conclusion, I think for today’s Milan, perhaps Lukaku is more suited than Zirkzee,” noted Crespo.