a surprise name pops up

The race for a striker continues at AC Milan, Zirkzee remains in pole position but an alternative emerges.

The summer transfer market session officially began today and at AC Milan it continues the search for a striker for the post-Giroud era. The French striker has left the Devil after 3 seasons, 132 appearances and 49 goals. For this reason, the Rossoneri management is looking for a new number nine, who is able to make the 37-year-old’s absence not be felt. Milan has been on the trail of the Dutchman for months now Joshua Zirkzee who last season showed off his skills wearing the Bologna shirt, leading the rossoblù to a sensational qualification for the Champions League.

However, negotiations for the 2001 class player are at a standstill due to the 15 million euros commission requested by the player’s agent (which would be added to the 40 million clause that the Rossoneri would pay to become owners of the player’s registration). The turning point in the negotiations could come in the next days as Zirkzee has announced that he will make a decision on his future at the end of the European Championships. Therefore, if Holland were to lose tomorrow in the match against Romania, the moment of choice would come for the centre forward. In the meantime, Milan is evaluating different profiles for the attack in case Zirkzee does not join the Rossoneri (watch out for Manchester United’s interest).

Striker-Milan: the alternative to Zirkzee is Gimenez

As also reported in today’s edition of Allsports, if Ibrahimovic, Moncada and Furlani do not reach an agreement with Kia Joorabchian (Zirkzee’s agent), then Milan will have to change their attacking target. Lukaku and Abraham they were offered to the club in Via Aldo Rossi which however, as the newspaper writes, continues to consider only Santiago Gimenez as an alternative to Zirkzee. The cost of the Mexican striker’s transfer fee is around 50 million of euros but we are talking about a centre forward who in the Eredivisie has an average of one goal every 110 minutes in 62 matches played.

The 2001-born player arrived in Holland in the summer of 2022 for 6 million eurosafter coming through the youth ranks of Cruz Azul, a Mexican club. Gimenez has also had the opportunity to shine on European stages, playing 11 games in the Europa League and 4 in the Champions League.

The market value of the Mexican centre forward is around 40 million euros and has a contract with Feyenoord until 2027, extended last summer. While Milan’s main target remains Zirkzee, the club from via Aldo Rossi is also considering the profile of Gimenez, who is currently preferred to Lukaku.