Olivier Giroud is set to leave Milan once his contract expires at the end of the current 2023-2024 season. The Frenchman who is 37 years old has contributed so far this season with 15 goals overall plus 9 assists in 45 appearances with over 3000 minutes played.
Now, however, it is time for Milan to find a new striker who can replace the former Arsenal and Chelsea star. According to what is reported by the Italian website Calciomercato.it, the club management is interested in Ollie Watkins.
The player in question is an English centre-forward who is 28 years old. He is having a very positive season: scoring 26 goals and providing 12 assists in 48 matches played with 3895 minutes played in total with Aston Villa. He is also liked by Arsenal.
The Villans' demand for their gem, which does not drop below 80 million euros for foreign clubs and exceeds 100 million euros for the domestic market. A figure reachable only by selling Leao for a sum close to his 150 million euros release clause. Then there's the competition from the Gunners, other English clubs, and even Serie A side Roma, although they remain for the moment in the background. Finally, there is Watkins' desire to play in the Champions League with the team of Unai Emery which currently occupies fourth place in the Premier League with three games to go, 7 points ahead of Tottenham, who, however, have two games in hand, starting with tonight's match against Chelsea.
As mentioned, the pursuit of Watkins is just one of the paths Milan is following to strengthen their offensive department. Much will also depend on who the next coach of the Rossoneri will be, with Pioli's confirmation becoming increasingly difficult.
In recent days, Thiago Motta's name has been linked to the Rossoneri bench, with the usual Zirkzee following him, but the Italo-Brazilian coach seems more destined to replace Allegri at Juventus if he were to leave Bologna. Options also remain alive with names like Gyokeres and Santiago Gimenez, although the strikers from Sporting CP and Feyenoord respectively have many admirers in the Premier League.
The track for Jonathan David is less hot, with Napoli also interested. Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig seemed the easiest to reach, but the German team's qualification for the Champions League raises the price of his tag.
Source: Calciomercato.it
