Luca Bianchin, journalist, wrote on gazzetta.it about Milan’s attacking strategies and why certain choices were made instead of the ones initially announced:
“Milan, at the start of the summer, said their priority was a number 9, a central striker with Giroud’s characteristics. That player never arrived, because Dovbyk stayed at Roma and Nkunku is a different type of forward. This happened due to choices and market circumstances. Darwin Núñez was the first target of the summer, but it soon became clear he was too expensive. He later went to Al Hilal for €53 million plus bonuses. Vlahović was never close for the same reasons: his €12 million net salary does not fit with the club’s policy. Højlund was considered and rejected, not seen as a player worth a €40 million mandatory buyout."
"The choice then became Victor Boniface, preferred because he could be signed on loan with an option to buy, but his knee condition led Milan to back away. Then, when Harder was judged either too raw (or too costly due to extra demands), the decision was to go for Nkunku, a strong player but not a penalty-box striker. This confirms the old theory: the striker market is the hardest one.”
