As Gazzetta has learned, Milan may be forced to accelerate their pursuit of Frenchman Olivier Giroud, as potentially scary news is on the brink for frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish forward went down with a knee injury against Juventus in May, and has since been out of football activities, and the player and Milan could be in for bad news in the near future. Ibra has been in conservative therapy and will wait until the end of June before a decision is to be made on whether surgery is required or not. In the event of going under the knife, Milan would need to land a player as a regular starter, as opposed to a rotational player.
Those at Casa Milan were a fan of the Giroud profile as a complimentary player to Ibra, but now the club may need him as their main goalscorer. Milan certainly struggled last season in games where Zlatan was absent, as Rebic and Leao are both more suitable options out wide. Maldini and Massara have had their eyes on Giroud for awhile, and the club will likely accelerate discussions with the Chelsea man if Zlatan is confirmed to miss time this season.
Chelsea recently initiated a one year renewal on the player, but Milan are still in a position to sign the profile on a free transfer since it will be a domestic transfer. Milan have a good standing relationship with Chelsea's front office, and should be able to handle business in an orderly fashion. In the event of Ibra's absence, Giroud will likely be Milan's main priority this summer.
While the Rossoneri look to England for depth and experience to the attack, the club still hopes to sign a young yet experienced talent at forward. The profiles of Scamacca and Vlahovic have lost their initial buzz after the reported price tags set by their club. A new name that has gained steam lately is Giacomo Raspadori. The 21-year-old Italian has shown promise for Sassuolo this season, and started to contibute more and see more minutes as the season progressed. The player scored a brace against Milan in April that earned 3 points for his club.
The profile is also followed by Inter, as the player's agent has many ties to those at the club. An official price tag has not been set for the Italian yet, but after his recent success in Serie A and his call up to the Italian national team it likely will not be cheap.
Milan's first priority will be securing Giroud, then if the finances are sitting right, negotiations could start for the Italian talent this summer too.
