For Milan it is time to turn the page after the Coppa Italia exit at the hands of Lazio. Massimiliano Allegri’s squad will play Torino on Monday evening in one of the last matches of 2025. Rumors grow each day about the main issue to watch ahead of the January window, the striker problem.
Allegri has limited depth up front. Santiago Gimenez is still a ghost, Christopher Nkunku is not meeting the initial expectations. The coach has shifted Rafa Leao to the middle with some good outcomes, but the Portuguese player stays out of place in a role he has covered before yet does not suit his qualities and potential.
He stays more effective on his flank because his background does not include the specific traits of a pure number nine. He is learning to play with his back to goal in a more selfless way, but moving him inside removes a key threat from the wing, as pointed out by those at Milan News today.
Against Lazio in the Coppa Italia, and in other matches in the first part of the season, Milan missed the type of striker who breaks tight games with a scrappy touch or a late header.
This is what the Milan management is targeting. This is the piece that might solve many of Allegri’s issues, with Leao returning to his flank for good or close to it, and with a striker who, from the start or off the bench, offers the technical and tactical traits that add options in the final third and on set pieces. This is the point to track, because this is where Milan is struggling, with short depth that, with the right signing, might become decisive for the season.
